WITH  DR.  GRENFELL 
IN  LABRADOR 


Frontispiece 


WITH   DR.  GRENFELL 
IN   LABRADOR 


BY 

CUTHBERT  LEE 

WITH   A   CHAPTER   BY   WILFRED    T.  GRENFELL 


NEW  YORK 

THE  NEALE  PUBLISHING   COMPANY 

1914 


■:* 


Copybioht,  1914,  BT 
THE  NEALE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


TO 

MY  MOTHER 

WHOSE  WONDERFUL  PERSONALITY 

HAS  INSPIRED 

MUCH  SERVICE  TO  OTHERS 


292243 


INTRODUCTION 

Having  lived  in  Labrador  for  over  a  year  as  vol- 
unteer aide  to  Dr.  Grenfell,  the  author  tells  of  the 
"liveyeres"  or  white  natives,  the  Eskimo  and  In- 
dians, to  whom  Dr.  Grenfell  ministers  as  physician, 
surgeon,  sole  magistrate  for  2,000  miles  of  coast, 
preacher  and  philanthropist. 

That  the  commercial  system  of  Labrador  has  been 
changed  from  the  ancient  barter  of  furs  and  fish 
for  supplies  to  an  increasingly  sound  cash  basis  in 
the  last  ten  years  is  shown  to  be  due  to  the  estab- 
lishment by  Dr.  Grenfell  of  a  series  of  cooperative 
stores  run  by  natives. 

This  complete  change  in  the  simple  economic  or- 
ganization of  Labrador  backs  up  the  work  of  Dr. 
Grenfell's  four  hospitals  in  fighting  the  scurvy, 
anemia  and  consumption  due  chiefly  to  poverty  and 
semi-starvation. 

The  first  full  account  of  the  Medical  Mission  as  it 
is  given  here,  the  various  stations  and  their  buildings 
and  personnel,  and  Dr.  Grenfell's  fleet  of  schooners 
and  launches,  headed  by  the  staunch  little  hospital 
ship  which  has  been  on  the  rocks  thirty-eight  times. 

The  experiences  of  the  author  as  sailor,  when  he 
twice  narrowly  escaped  drowning  in  severe  storms 
and  shipwreck,  as  clerk  of  Labrador's  one  court,  in 
traveling  through  blizzards  with  Eskimo  dogs,  hunt- 
ing and  shooting  in  this  sportmen's  paradise,  reveal 

5 


6  "iKtCO-BU'CtiOtt 

a  life  full  of  excitement  in  a  country  regarded  as 
dull  and  bleak. 

Mr.  Lee's  work  included  breaking  in  and  help- 
ing to  establish  the  herd  of  reindeer  which  will 
eventually  provide  the  natives  with  food,  clothing 
and  transportation,  and  do  away  with  the  man-eat- 
ing Eskimo  dogs. 

And  through  all  this  account  runs  an  intimate 
series  of  views  of  the  author's  friend,  Dr.  Gren- 
fell, "the  most  picturesque  figure  on  the  North 
American  continent,"  whose  wonderful  personality, 
though  revealed  in  his  work,  is  here  for  the  first 
time  presented  as  he  lives  his  daily  life.  The  com- 
pelling but  diffident  speaker  and  writer,  known  to 
Americans  and  honored  here  and  abroad,  is  shown 
here  as  "The  Doctor"  of  Labrador,  the  wise  judge, 
unhesitating  fighter  and  watchful  guardian,  whose 
generosity  in  giving  his  life  to  help  others,  and 
whose  courage  in  navigating  his  little  vessel  and 
facing  death  on  the  ice,  have  earned  the  love  of  the 
strong  men  of  Labrador. 

Dr.  Grenfell  has  contributed  an  excellent  chap- 
ter on  the  future  of  Labrador,  telling  why  he  be- 
lieves in  and  loves  the  country  and  its  people.  Un- 
known to  him,  the  author  has  planned  to  share 
equally  with  Dr.  Grenfell,  for  use  in  his  work,  the 
profits  of  this  book.  DOUGLAS   PALMER, 

Volunteer  member  of  the  medical  staff,  Inter- 
national Medical  Mission  in  Labrador,  for 
four  years. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

I.     The  Future  of  Labrador,  by  Wilfred 

T.  Grenfell 
II.    The  Labrador  People 

III.  Hunting  and  Fishing 

IV.  Commercial  Labrador 
V.    Exploration   . 

VI.     The  Labrador  Medical  Mission 
VII.     How  to  Keach  Labrador 
VIII.    An  American  in  Labrador    . 

IX.     The  Labrador  Eskimo   . 
Appendix  :  Addresses  .... 


11 

29 

41 

61 

72 

85 

105 

112 

138 

155 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Wilfred  T.  Grenfell      ....    Frontispiece 

OPPOSITE 
PAGE 

An  Eskimo  family  at  home  .        .  opposite  page  114 

Building  shelters  on  spring  journey  ...  88 

Children  from  Dr.  Grenf ell's  orphanage  .        .  32 

Dog  transportation  in  Labrador          ...  16 

Dr.  Grenfell  visiting  the  Eskimo        ...  13 

in  sealskins 85 

in  his  Eskimo  kyak 150 

surveying 152 

Fishing  schooners  in  Battle  Harbor,  Labrador  .  29 

Lapland  herders  harnessing  reindeer  ...  25 

Map,  specially  drawn  for  this  book    .        .        .  105 

Noonday  siesta  on  a  frozen  marsh      ...  20 

Quarter-mile  of  Greenland  glacier      ...  81 

Eeindeer  on  Doctor's  Hills          ....  20 

caravan  hauling  logs 32 

team 136 

The  author  in  Eskimo  sealskin  clothes      .         .  128 

The  reindeer  afford  rich  milk      ....  65 


WITH  DR.  GRENFELL 
IN    LABRADOR 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   FUTURE   OF  LABRADOR,    BY   WILFRED      T. 
GRENFELL 

The  section  of  North  America  known  as  "Lab- 
rador" may  be  said,  roughly,  to  consist  of  a  terri- 
tory as  large  as  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  France, 
and  Austria  combined.  The  real  question  of  inter- 
est is,  What  can  this  vast  area  contribute  to  the 
world's  wealth?    Can  it  contribute  anything? 

It  is  an  acknowledged  fact  that  so  far  it  is  only 
inhabited  by  a  comparative  handful  of  settlers,  who 
live  scattered  all  along  the  seaboard,  and  by  trap- 
pers who  hunt  along  its  waterways,  or  on  the  high- 
lands in  winter.  The  gradually  diminishing  bands 
of  Micmac  and  Nascopee  Indians  who  eke  out  a 
precarious  livelihood  by  the  chase  as  they  wander 
over  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  the  country 
are  known  at  times  to  meet  with  hunger  or  even 
actual  starvation.    The  Eskimos,  who  once  lived  in 

ii 


i2 r^mUb fikJfifyiffttll  in  Lafiratior 

abundance  around  the  entire  shore  line,  are  now 
confined  to  the  northern  two  hundred  miles  of  coast ; 
and  they,  too,  are  steadily  diminishing,  owing  to  the 
destruction  of  their  means  of  livelihood  by  their 
more  clever  and  better  outfitted  white  competitors. 

Forest  fires  and  excessive  hunting  have  told 
heavily  upon  the  numbers  of  fur-bearing  animals. 
The  almost  unrestricted  netting  of  estuaries  and  of 
rivers  has  decreased  enormously  the  salmon  re- 
sources of  a  hundred  years  ago.  In  1795  one  firm 
was  able  to  export  as  much  as  all  our  salmon  now 
put  together  can  total.  The  seals  are  seriously 
diminishing,  and  so  are  the  whales.  Fifty  years  ago 
it  was  possible  to  become  positively  wealthy  if  you 
owned  a  good  sealing  berth.  It  was  not  then  a 
matter  of  wonder  that  one  man,  on  the  strength  of 
his  sealing  stand,  kept  a  carriage  and  horses  and 
built  the  only  road  in  Labrador  that  he  might  drive 
them  along  it.  Moreover,  at  the  approach  of  winter 
he  was  able  to  hire  a  fiddler  from  Quebec,  keep  open 
house,  and  provide  merriment  for  his  neighbors 
until  the  return  of  open  water.  Yet  so  much  have 
the  seals  decreased  that  I  was  called  upon  to  help 
with  food  this  very  man's  grandson,  who  had  fallen 
into  poverty  and  semi-starvation.  He  had  been 
obliged  to  abandon  the  sealing  post  altogether. 

Once  it  was  a  regular  supplement  to  the  cod-fish- 
ing to  use  seal  nets  in  the  fall  and  spring.  Now  it 
hardly  pays  to  put  them  out  if  you  own  them;  and 


C6e  JFuture  of  La&ra&ot         13 

no  merchant  would  dream  of  supplying  them  in 
return  for  half  the  catch,  as  was  the  custom  here- 
tofore. In  our  own  minds  we  attribute  this  to  the 
enormous  number  of  baby  seals  killed  just  after 
they  are  born  by  the  many  large  steamer  crews, 
which  are  each  year  increasing  in  size  and  numbers. 
Not  only  is  this  loss  of  seals  a  serious  factor  to  the 
cash  returns  of  the  Labrador  family,  but  also  the 
disappearance  of  the  fresh  meat  for  food  and  the 
invaluable  skin  for  boots  and  clothing  constitutes  an 
irreparable  misfortune. 

For  some  reason  or  other,  the  codfish  along  the 
coast  have  also  become  more  liable  to  fail  of  late 
years,  to  such  an  extent  that  most  of  the  northern 
summer  stations  have  been  entirely  abandoned.  The 
herring,  too,  for  which  Labrador  was  especially  fa- 
mous, have  left  their  former  haunts,  and  this  fishery 
also  has  been  practically  abandoned. 

For  my  part,  I  am  often  asked,  "Why  don't  you 
try  to  move  every  living  being  out  of  such  a  God- 
forsaken country  ?"  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  only 
just  deduction  from  all  these  conditions  is  that  what 
has  befallen  Labrador  is  only  exactly  what  has  hap- 
pened everywhere  else  where  exploitation  has  been 
practiced  without,  or  instead  of,  conservation,  and 
where  no  capital  and  no  science  have  come  to  the 
rescue.  Where  would  even  California  have  been 
without  irrigation,  to  say  nothing  of  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico? 


14     Wlitb  2X  ©renfeil  in  JLafcraliot 

Hitherto  I  have  been  registering  facts.  As  to 
the  why  and  wherefore  of  these  facts  it  has  for- 
merly been  no  one's  business  to  inquire.  There  is 
no  marine  biological  department  in  the  country  to 
make  scientific  inquiries  and  to  seek  for  remedies. 
Our  industries,  like  sick  folk  in  Labrador  twenty 
years  ago,  simply  died  or  lived,  as  chance  directed. 
Of  late  years  the  Newfoundland  Government,  under 
whose  jurisdiction  the  eastern  side  of  Labrador 
falls,  has  done  something  to  prevent  the  destruction 
of  the  reproduction  grounds  of  our  salmon  and 
trout  by  adding  to  the  laws  prohibiting  the  netting 
and  barring  of  rivers  some  small  executive  force 
to  put  the  laws  into  effect.  But  it  still  seems  prob- 
able that  little  recuperation  will  occur  until  the 
catching  of  cod  by  the  great  submerged  trap-nets 
spread  all  along  the  coast  in  the  months  of  June, 
July,  and  August  is  abandoned.  These  are  exactly 
the  months  when  the  salmon  are  running  into  the 
bays  and  rivers,  and  a  very  large  number  of  peal 
(or  salmon  under  two  pounds  weight)  are  taken  in 
the  leaders,  or  large  nets,  which  reach  from  the 
surface  to  the  bottom  and  run  out  one  hundred 
fathoms  from  the  shore  to  the  trap.  In  one  river  I 
have  seen  fifty  salmon  caught  on  a  fly,  every  one  of 
which  showed  a  net  mark  on  its  shoulders,  proving 
that  it  had  forced  its  way  through  or  broken  loose 
from  twine  lower  down  the  river.  We  are  delighted 
that  there  is  a  growing  feeling  among  the  cod-fisher- 


Cfje  jFutute  of  LafitaDor         15 

men  themselves  against  these  nets,  for,  though  in 
this  way  they  catch  countless  numbers  of  fish  in  a 
brief  time,  the  take  is  entirely  dependent  upon  the 
cod  coming  right  into  the  shore  exactly  where  the 
net  is  set,  and,  if  the  fish  strike  a  hundred  yards 
either  way  or  keep  on  the  outside,  a  whole  summer 
may  be  lost,  and  that  often  spells  ruin. 

Again,  the  trap  method  of  fishing,  which  makes 
it  necessary  for  the  fisherman  to  sit  down  until  the 
fish  catches  itself,  tells  against  the  men,  qua  men, 
destroying  that  magnificent  enterprise  and  daring 
which  carries  the  deep-sea  fisherman  wherever  the 
fish  may  move  to. 

It  might  be  easy  to  go  on  and  show  that  Labra- 
dor, so  far  as  can  be  seen  at  present,  offers  as  its 
main  contribution  to  the  world's  economies  animals 
rather  than  vegetable  or  mineral  products.  The  an- 
cient formation  of  the  Labrador  rocks,  the  continu- 
ation of  the  Appalachian  range,  their  similarity  to 
those  of  the  rich  ore-producing  strata  of  the  rest 
of  the  northern  section  of  North  America,  and  the 
small  amount  of  prospecting  which  has  been  possi- 
ble, together  with  the  revelation  of  the  economic 
possibilities  for  every  form  of  matter  now  that 
radio-activity  has  been  discovered,  foreshadow  ul- 
timately unlimited  development  for  Labrador.  This 
opinion  is  confirmed  when  one  considers  her  enor- 
mous water  powers  as  yet  unharnessed,  especially 
the  Grand  Falls  of  the  Hamilton  River,  which  are 


1 6     Wiitf)  Dr*  <£>renfeli  in  LabtaUor 

undoubtedly  among  the  finest  in  the  world.  But  we 
are  utilitarian  enough  to  feel  more  interested  in 
immediate  than  in  remote  posterity,  from  which  we, 
during  our  stay  on  earth,  can  at  best  expect  little. 
Moreover,  at  present  we  in  Labrador  are  without 
the  means  to  promote  mineral  development. 

We  are  in  much  the  same  position  in  regard  to 
the  possible  returns  from  the  vegetable  assets  of  the 
country.  The  natural  products  of  the  valleys  are 
spruce,  firs,  and  larches,  with  a  few  scattered  birch, 
balsams,  and  alders.  The  uplands  of  the  interior 
and  the  barrens  afford  mostly  mosses  and  lichens. 
Grasses  are  characteristically  absent,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  sand  grass,  which  grows  abundantly 
on  the  few  beaches,  and  which  not  only  affords  a 
fine  tough  stalk  for  basket-making,  but  also  a  good 
seed  which  for  ages  in  Iceland,  and  at  one  time  in 
Norway,  served  the  people  instead  of  corn. 

During  the  visits  of  the  Vikings  to  Labrador  this 
seed,  in  the  absence  of  corn,  gave  them  their  only 
available  bread,  and  was  known  as  veiti,  or  wheat. 

The  making  of  linen  from  flax  is  also  most  profit- 
able in  damp  climates,  and,  now  that  straw  can  be 
used  for  making  it,  there  seems  no  reason  why  such 
an  industry  might  not  grow  up. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  also,  that  the  country 
could  afford  abundant  pulp  material,  our  northern 
spruces  being  especially  admirable  for  that  purpose, 
owing  to  their  tough  fibers.     But  no  feasible  plan 


TRANSPORTATION  IN  THE  INTERIOR  OF  LABRADOR 

Facing  page    16 


C&e  jFuture  of  LafitaDor         17 

has  as  yet  been  offered  to  induce  capital  to  come  in 
and  work  it.  It  is  true  that  there  is  an  alpine  flora, 
mostly  of  small,  bright-colored  flowering  plants,  and 
an  abundant  variety  and  generous  quantity  of  in- 
digenous native  berries.  We  now  export  our  small 
red  cranberry  for  purposes  of  dyeing,  and  also  use 
it  and  the  blueberry  quite  extensively  for  jams. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  these  berries  could  be 
vastly  improved  by  cultivation,  and  it  is  even  pos- 
sible that  the  ripening  period  of  some  cereals  may 
be  sufficiently  reduced  to  allow  a  limited  amount  of 
grain  to  be  produced  locally,  possibly  enough  for 
any  population  which  the  country  will  ever  be  called 
upon  to  carry.  At  any  rate,  experiment  has  shown 
that  in  the  valleys  of  the  big  rivers  which  have  not 
been  over  robbed  of  the  natural  protection  of  trees, 
and  at  distances  sufficiently  far  from  the  polar  cur- 
rent which  sweeps  the  coast,  barley  and  oats  will 
ripen.  On  the  other  hand,  we  are  liable  to  summer 
frosts.  In  most  places  our  earth  is  scant,  and  where 
it  is  plentiful  is  very  acid,  a  fact  which  accounts  for 
the  luxuriance  of  our  crop  of  blueberries,  which 
flourish  only  in  a  humic,  acid  soil. 

There  is  no  question  that  a  potato  with  crawling 
leaves  which  easily  escape  frost,  such  as  was  par- 
tially developed  by  Lord  Strathcona,  could  be  per- 
petuated, and,  with  the  hardy  cabbage,  lettuce,  and 
turnip,  would  add  sufficiently  to  the  quota  of  food 
contribution  from  the  vegetable  kingdom  to  supply 


1 8     mitt)  Dr*  <$unlzll  in  La&ra&ot 

the  moderate  population  with  all  that  they  would 
actually  need  of  carbohydrates  to  maintain  life, 
without  the  necessity  for  much  importing. 

We  are  now  experimenting  with  northern  alfalfa, 
which  offers  good  promise  of  success.  Possibly  also 
the  new  variety  of  Alsike  clover,  which  is  a  peren- 
nial and  unhurt  by  frosts,  may  simplify  our  dairy 
problem. 

But,  look  at  it  how  you  will  (and  for  twenty 
years  we  have  been  considering  how  to  improve 
matters),  neither  from  the  vegetable  nor  mineral 
kingdom  do  we  see  at  present  any  hope  of  even- 
tually doing  more  than  supply  the  bare  necessities 
of  existence.  If,  however,  to  some  of  those  objec- 
tions to  a  population  in  a  country  which  people  have 
been  pleased  to  call  "the  Land  of  Cain"  we  argue 
that  in  the  animal  kingdom  we  see  a  prospect  of 
hope,  we  are  met  by  the  objection  on  the  part  of 
some  that  to  convert  our  country  into  a  meat-rais- 
ing land,  and  so  contribute  to  the  influences  which 
already  mark  down  the  human  race  as  beasts  of 
prey,  is  not  only  unwise,  but  unworthy. 

But  to  the  man  who  wears  boots  and  shoes  and 
the  woman  who  wears  furs  and  slippers  Labrador 
makes  an  even  more  insistent  plea  for  recognition, 
even  if  sentiment  drives  such  persons  to  throw  away 
the  carcasses  after  they  have  been  deprived  of  their 
natural  coverings.  Unfortunately,  with  us,  our 
foxes  and  beavers  and  other  animals  have  not  emu- 


Cfte  jFutute  of  JLafiraDor         19 

lated  either  lobsters  or  crabs  or  snakes  in  their 
estimable  ability  to  shed  their  skins  and  grow  new 
ones.  Only  in  the  Utopian  dreams  of  fox-farmers 
and  seal-hunters  has  the  possibility  of  this  ultima 
thule  of  animal  culture  yet  been  developed.  As 
matters  exist,  one  of  the  most  sorrowful  features 
of  seal-hunting,  to  me,  is  that  the  bodies  of  the 
countless  slain  babies  are  left  to  waste  in  the  cold 
storage  of  the  ice  floe  until  sharks  and  other  crea- 
tures of  prey,  above  and  below  water,  obliterate  this 
offense  to  modern  sensibilities.  Even  those,  how- 
ever, who,  to  be  consistent,  object  to  the  use  of  any 
animal  product  whatever  which  involves  the  death 
of  the  producer,  must  still  note  the  momentous  ar- 
gument that,  if  all  of  the  human  inhabitants  of  the 
world  were  really  vegetarian,  nearly  one-half  of  the 
world  would  have  to  starve  in  order  to  let  the  others 
practice  their  faith — which  is  a  paradox,  seeing  that 
we,  too,  are  animals.  Only  a  short  time  ago  a 
friend  wrote  me  from  England  a  long  discourse  on 
the  value  of  nuts  as  food.  He  expatiated  on  their 
cheapness,  their  economy  as  a  concentrated  food, 
and  on  many  of  their  other  inestimable  virtues.  But 
he  only  sent  along  one  small  sample  bottle  to  sup- 
port his  argument.  The  real  trouble  with  nuts  in 
Labrador  is  not  intellectual,  but  practical,  because 
none  at  all  are  available — and  we  have  not  yet 
learned  to  live  by  swallowing  the  lump  that  rises  in 
our  throat  whenever  we  chance  to  think  of  them. 


20     mitb  Dr*  <£>tettfeil  in  Ha&raDot 

For  the  present,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  best  im- 
mediate prospect  of  developing  Labrador  lies  in  the 
possibilities  of  her  animals.  These  are  steadily  in- 
creasing in  value  to  mankind,  and  every  character- 
istic of  Labrador  points  to  this  as  the  line  of  least 
resistance  for  evolution.  When  Alaska  was  first 
purchased,  her  mineral  wealth  was  undeveloped, 
and  Secretary  Seward  was  blamed  for  buying  a 
valueless  country.  The  idea  that  a  polar  land  like 
Alaska  would  ever  contribute  to  the  meat  supply  of 
the  outside  world  has  even  yet  scarcely  dawned 
upon  most  men.  But  such  is  the  case.  A  first  con- 
signment of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  reindeer 
carcasses,  shipped  .  to  Seattle  from  the  domestic 
herds,  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  year,  and  sold  at 
twenty  cents  a  pound.  That  this  export  will  be 
vastly  increased  in  the  future,  and  that  the  experi- 
ment can  be  repeated  in  Labrador  with  success,  is 
now  beyond  doubt. 

We  purchased  a  herd  of  three  hundred  deer  in 
Lapland  in  1908,  selling  fifty  stags  on  their  arrival 
to  assist  in  meeting  the  expenses.  To  manage  the 
remaining  two  hundred  and  fifty  we  had  brought 
over  three  families  of  Lapps,  whom  we  retained  for 
three  winters.  The  does  bear  one  fawn  each  April 
from  their  second  to  their  twelfth  year.  Very 
rarely  they  have  twins,  and  occasionally  the  young 
does  will  fawn  at  one  year  old.  At  breeding-time 
we  keep  the  herd  on  the  hills  to  save  the  fawns 


.    :■- 


NOONDAY  SIESTA  ON  A  FROZEN  MARSH 


REINDEER  ON  DOCTOR'S  HILLS 


Facing   page   20 


Cfte  jFuture  of  LafiraDot         21 

from  falling  into  the  brooks  through  holes  in  the 
disappearing  ice,  while  all  summer  they  frequent 
the  high  sea  cliffs  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  flies 
as  much  as  possible.  Being  splay-footed  and  cow- 
like, they  occasionally  fall  over  and  perish.  Now 
and  again  some  of  our  dogs  will  pull  down  a  doe  or 
some  stray  one  will  escape  the  herders.  There  will 
always  be  a  percentage  of  loss.  But,  inclusive  of 
all  losses,  the  herd  will  double  in  three  years,  and 
ought  to  do  better  than  that  if  the  stags  only  are 
either  killed  for  meat  or  altered  for  transport  pur- 
poses. This  year  we  sold  fifty  more  and  sent  three 
of  our  own  trained  herders  to  the  Athabasca  dis- 
trict near  Fort  Smith.  We  have  now  eight  hundred 
and  fifty  left,  mostly  does,  and  in  a  few  months 
should  have  over  twelve  hundred.  Even  if  reindeer 
cannot  supplant  dogs  for  rapid  transport,  Labrador 
can  certainly  become  one  vast  reindeer  ranch. 

This  experiment  has  clearly  shown,  as  we  have 
now  for  the  first  time  moved  the  herd  a  few  miles 
from  the  original  feeding-ground,  that  the  land  can 
support  almost  a  countless  number,  that  they  can 
easily  endure  our  climate,  and  that  they  will  pay 
well  to  raise  when  there  is  a  sufficient  number  of 
them. 

At  the  present  rate  of  increase,  it  is  calculated 
that  in  twenty-five  years  there  will  be  three  million 
deer  in  Alaska,  and  it  is  reckoned  that  Alaska  will 
carry  ten  million,  so  that  there  would  appear  to  be 


22     ffljtti)  Dr*  <&ttnttll  in  Labrador 

promise  of  an  almost  unlimited  supply  of  meat  and 
skins  for  export.  If  the  herds  double  in  three  years 
a  million  carcasses  a  year  would  not  be  too  heavy 
an  annual  tax.  On  a  treeless  island  near  Nome  Dr. 
Campbell's  herd  has  in  ten  years  grown  from 
seventy  to  eight  hundred  and  fifty.  Think  of  the 
industry  created  and  the  collateral  industries  sup- 
ported by  this  scheme ! 

The  value  of  the  annual  catch  of  fish  around  the 
British  islands  is  estimated,  at  the  actual  auction 
price  in  the  fish  market,  at  over  fifty  million  dollars ; 
and  that,  when  translated  into  the  amount  it  costs 
the  consumer,  might  certainly  be  trebled.  But  if  it 
were  only  doubled,  what  a  vast  amount  of  cereals 
and  vegetables  it  would  take  to  correspond  to  one 
hundred  million  dollars!  This  is  saying  nothing  of 
the  collateral  values  realized  both  by  the  distribu- 
tion of  labor  and  the  character  development  of  the 
race  engaged  in  the  catching  of  the  fish.  The  more 
one  looks  at  the  facts  the  more  one  is  impressed 
with  the  fear  that  the  world  could  not  exist  without 
the  killing  of  animals,  or,  even  if  it  were  able  to  do 
so,  a  very  imperfect  race  would  be  developed. 

The  wisdom  of  looking  ahead,  therefore,  that  the 
meat  supply  of  the  world  may  be  safeguarded,  need 
not  be  seriously  considered  as  tainted  with  crime. 
Add  to  this  the  expense  and  almost  the  impossibility 
of  providing  palatable  and  sufficient  hydrocarbons 
from  the  vegetable  world,  and  the  rich  milk  and  fat 


Cfte  jFuture  of  JLafitaDor         23 

sources  of  hydrocarbon  that  these  deer  afford. 
Then  we  must  recognize  that  the  buffalo  have  gone, 
because  their  land  was  taken  from  them,  and  that 
the  Rocky  Mountain  elk  have  to  be  fed  artificially, 
and  that,  even  in  spite  of  that,  they  are  dying  in 
numbers  from  starvation.  All  our  rich  game  birds 
are  diminishing  rapidly.  How  many  families  would 
have  turkey  to  eat  at  Christmas  if  the  supply  were 
still  derived  only  from  the  wild  stock?  The  excel- 
lent northern  curlew  (Numenius  Borealis)  black- 
ened the  sky  twenty- five  years  ago  in  Labrador; 
now  specimen  collectors  are  offering  fifty  dollars 
for  a  single  skin.  To  have  to  trust  to  the  former 
wild  pigeon  supply  for  the  succulent  squab  would 
bring  tears  to  the  eyes  of  many  epicureans.  The 
skin  alone  of  this  bird  is  fast  rivaling  for  rarity  that 
of  the  great  auk  and  the  dodo. 

Exactly  the  same  thing  exists  in  the  vegetable 
world  as  in  the  animal,  and  on  sea  as  on  land. 
There  would  not  be  a  lobster,  an  oyster,  or  a  fur 
seal  to-day  available  for  the  wayfaring  man  were 
it  not  for  the  principle  of  conservation  long  ago 
recognized  and  applied.  The  supply  of  cod,  salmon, 
trout,  etc.,  responds  in  exactly  the  same  way  to  care 
and  reasonable  outlay.  Large  sums  are  now  being 
spent  on  irrigation,  pisciculture,  and  the  adaptation 
of  plants  to  new  surroundings. 

I   should  like   to  register   an  earnest  plea  that 


24     fflliti)  Dr*  &ttnttll  in  La&taOor 

philanthropic  scientists  and  legislatures  look  into 
the  matter  seriously,  and  subsidize  the  attempt  to 
utilize  the  now  waste  places  of  the  earth,  and  at  the 
same  time  protect,  or  use  more  efficiently,  the  herds 
of  deer  which  still  remain  in  the  great  north  barren 
lands. 

The  suggestion  to  remove  our  population  after 
years  of  residence  to  some  other  place  where  things 
are  easier  will  appear  but  short-sighted  policy  to  the 
generations  to  come,  compared  with  that  which, 
recognizing  the  difficulties  of  the  wilderness,  goes 
in  and  then  proceeds  to  make  it  blossom  like  a  rose. 

It  was  suggested  some  time  ago  by  Mr.  Thomp- 
son Seton,  the  well-known  naturalist,  that  the  yak 
of  Tibet  might  be  adapted  to  Canada.  So  a  little 
herd  of  six  yak,  donated  from  the  Duke  of  Bed- 
ford's park  at  Wobun,  were  expatriated  from  Eng- 
land to  a  place  on  the  prairie  near  Brandon.  Ap- 
parently little  more  is  known  of  the  experiment,  but 
as  yet  it  has  not  revolutionized  either  the  meat  trade 
or  the  sleigh-robe  supply. 

Some  years  ago  a  herd  of  a  dozen  moose  were 
turned  wild  into  Newfoundland.  It  is  said  that  one 
has  been  seen  once  or  twice  since  then,  but  nothing 
material  has  resulted  so  far.  Mr.  Seton  is  still  as 
convinced  as  ever  that  his  experiments  can  succeed. 
He  is  by  no  means  yet  convinced  that  the  experi- 
ment has  been  tried.  Personally,  I  am  convinced 
that  neither  one  of  them  has  been  tried.    When  one 


€t)e  jFuture  of  La&raDor         25 

learns  from  Admiral  Peary  of  the  white  caribou 
which  can  multiply  in  North  Grantland  and  in  the 
Arctic  night,  when  one  sees  Professor  Tyrrell's  pic- 
tures of  the  endless  procession  of  the  herds  of  deer 
that  find  a  living  in  the  almost  absolutely  barren 
lands  north  of  Chesterfield  outlet,  little  doubt  is  left 
in  one's  mind  that  the  magnificently  demonstrated 
theorem  of  North  Alaska  can  be  redemonstrated  in 
Labrador. 

While  the  modern  methods  of  manufacturing  and 
the  conversion  of  waste  into  useful  products  are 
already  phenomenal,  there  still  remains  a  demand 
for  the  raw  material  and  natural  products.  The 
industrial  chemist  can  synthesize  almost  anything 
for  us  nowadays.  The  obscure  secretion  of  the 
ductless  gland  known  as  adrenalin,  the  very  use  of 
which  in  the  economy  of  the  body  we  have  only  just 
discovered,  can  now  be  made  out  of  ordinary  coal- 
tar.  Just  so,  camphor  can  be  made  artificially ;  and 
it  might  be  possible  to  suppose  that,  by  trying  hard 
enough,  if  the  doctrine  of  selection  is  true,  we  might 
get  back  by  unnatural  elimination  to  the  mammoth 
and  the  dinosaur.  But  where  products  are  required 
in  bulk,  and  especially  where  they  relate  to  the  food 
of  man,  there  is  every  reason  to  consider  it  is  good 
economy  to  incur  expenditure  in  order  to  fall  in  line 
with  natural  processes  rather  than  attempt  to  begin 
all  over  again  on  our  own  account.  Incidentally, 
the  naturally  produced  venison  has  a  flavor  some- 


26     mith  &i>  ©rettfeil  fit  LafcraDot 

what  between  that  of  beef  and  lamb,  and  is  most 
delectable. 

I  must  not  conclude  this  article  without  reference, 
however,  to  another  equally  important  possibility  of 
Labrador  in  the  line  of  animal  propagation;  and 
that  concerns  its  export  of  valuable  furs.  Twenty 
years  ago,  when  I  went  to  Labrador,  the  following 
were  approximately  the  prices  for  fur  paid  to  the 
trappers : 

Silver  fox  $5o-$ioo    Muskrat    10  cents 

Patch   fox  $6-$i5     White  fox  $i 

Mink    $i     Lynx    $3.50 

Red   fox    $3     Black  bear   $10 

Ermine    10  cents    Otter  $10 

Marten  cats  (our  sable) $3.50 

Now  the  prices  stand  at  about  twice  or  three 
times  the  above : 

Silver  fox  $500  or  over     Muskrat    25  cents 

Patch  fox   $10-30    White   fox    $5-12 

Mink    $4-10    Lynx    $10-30 

Red  fox   $7-io    Black  bear    $10-20 

Ermine   25  cents     Otter    $15-30 

Marten    $15-25 

This  can  mean  only  one  of  two  things — either  the 
demand  has  increased  or  the  supply  has  diminished. 
I  believe  both  to  be  true;  and  it  is  quite  obvious 
that  conservation,  or  rather  propagation,  is  desir- 
able. Is  it  possible  to  propagate  these  animals? 
Most  certainly  it  is.  It  has  been  shown  beyond 
all  question  that  foxes,  marten,  mink,  and  skunk 
live  and  breed  in  captivity,  and  there  is  no  reason 


C&e  jFutute  of  Lat>ra&ot         27 

to  suppose  that,  if  they  are  given  room  and  food, 
beaver,  otter,  and  ermine  would  not  do  the  same. 
Some  years  ago,  partly  at  the  suggestion  of  the  nat- 
uralist, Professor  Brewster,  of  Massachusetts,  we 
started  a  small  fox  farm  with  three  runs.  We  did 
not,  however,  understand  our  business.  We  had 
very  little  time  to  spend  in  looking  after  them,  and, 
being  in  a  public  place,  they  were  much  observed  by 
many  visitors.  The  increased  value  of  foxes  caught 
young  and  kept  to  maturity  paid  all  expenses,  but 
we  were  unfortunate  enough  not  to  get  any  litters 
of  our  own.  So  we  abandoned  the  enterprise,  sell- 
ing the  last  of  our  silver  foxes  to  a  friend  in  Prince 
Edward  Island.  He  succeeded  immediately  in  get- 
ting a  litter  of  cubs.  Other  enterprises  have  sprung 
up  all  around;  many  new  facts  have  become  ap- 
parent, and  I  myself  have  had  at  least  fifty  applica- 
tions for  live  specimens  for  breeding  purposes  dur- 
ing the  last  twelve  months. 

It  is  perfectly  safe  to  say  that  these  ventures  in 
animal  farming  are,  like  the  new  deer  experiment, 
now  beyond  the  problematical  stage,  and  it  is  an 
established  fact  that  considerable  dividends  are  al- 
ready being  paid  on  the  outlay.  Moreover,  as  Mr. 
Seton  has  pointed  out,  the  tendency  of  Labrador  is 
to  produce  the  darker,  blacker,  and  more  valuable 
colored  furs,  while  the  tendency  of  Alaska  is 
toward  light  colors  and  reds,  which  are  less  val- 
uable.   For  my  part,  I  believe  that  both  these  orig- 


28     mitb  Dr*  ©tenfell  in  ItatiraDor 

inal  propositions  can  be  made  to  pay  in  Labrador. 
I  believe  that  in  the  not  distant  future  a  railway 
will  be  run  along  its  south  shore ;  and  that  the  Hud- 
son Bay  route  will  be  made  feasible,  though  the  ice 
from  the  west  of  Baffin's  Bay,  breaking  off  with 
the  September  equinoxes,  does  fill  the  channel  near 
Cape  Wolstenholme  earlier  than  the  new  ice  of  No- 
vember, which  was  originally  thought  to  be  the 
chief  difficulty.  As  a  place  for  summer  visitors  its 
fyns  and  falls  will  one  day  bring  a  large  traffic. 

Without  posing  as  attorney  for  the  Creator  in 
the  endeavor  to  defend  his  economy  in  having  pro- 
duced so  large  a  quantity  of  material  of  problem- 
atical value,  I  want  to  go  on  record  as  one  who 
personally  has  faith  in  the  future  of  Labrador  and 
in  its  mineral  resources,  and  the  adaptability  of  its 
valleys  by  drainage  and  culture  for  summer  crops 
of  the  necessaries  of  life.  I  have  no  doubt  whatever 
that,  with  proper  conservation  of  its  animal  re- 
sources, it  offers  yet  a  valuable  addition  to  the  pos- 
sessions of  Canada  and  the  British  Empire,  an  addi- 
tion of  which  only  a  few  to-day  see  the  meaning. 
Alaska,  British  Columbia,  the  great  Northwest, 
Klondike,  Cobalt,  and  generally  the  whole  of  "Our 
Lady  of  the  Snows,"  had  to  win  their  laurels 
against  severe  criticism,  an  unmerited  combat,  and 
much  neglect.  But  the  Great  Dominion  is  finding 
herself  all  safely,  and  one  day  Labrador  also  will 
come  to  her  own. 


04 
o 

Q 

< 

PQ 
< 

o£ 
O 

PQ 
< 

W 

h 
< 

PQ 


CO 

& 

o 
o 

u 

CO 

o 

CO  ■ 


CHAPTER   II 


THE   LABRADOR   PEOPLE 


There  are  about  five  thousand  permanent  inhab- 
itants of  the  Labrador  coast,  comprising  three  sep- 
arate sorts  of  people.  The  Eskimo  were  the  orig- 
inal possessors  of  the  country,  as  far  as  we  know, 
and  were  once  quite  numerous.  They  now,  how- 
ever, are  chiefly  found  north  of  Hamilton  Inlet. 
Their  numbers  are  decreasing,  though  not  very  rap- 
idly. Eventually,  undoubtedly,  the  Eskimo  will  die 
out,  but  they  are  doing  so  rather  more  slowly  than 
men  of  science  of  fifty  years  ago  prophesied.  They 
are  perpetuating  their  strain  through  families  of 
half  breeds,  which  are  becoming  more  numerous. 

The  second  element  of  the  population  and 
the  one  which  promises  to  be  the  chief  in  the 
future  is  the  English.  Several  generations  ago 
the  last  Englishmen  came  over  as  servants  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Co.,  or  as  adventurous  seekers 
after  fortune.  For  two  or  three  hundred  years  be- 
fore that,  however,  Englishmen  had  been  coming  to 
the  Coast  from  Devonshire  and  the  Channel  Islands 
and  many  of  them  had  settled  and  married  Eskimo 

29 


30     Wiitb  Dr*  <3nnUU  in  LaftraDor 

women.  Some  of  them  deserted  from  fishing  ships, 
others  were  runaway  convicts  and  apprentices. 
Originally  they  lived  with  the  Eskimo  and  learned 
their  language  and  methods  of  hunting,  and  in  some 
cases  actually  forget  not  only  their  own  past  but 
the  English  language.  Nowadays,  however,  most 
of  them  speak  English,  although  with  a  very  queer 
dialect,  which  combines  sea  terms,  Devonshire,  Es- 
kimo and  Indian  speech  and  sheer  ignorance.  These 
whites  are  found  all  along  the  coast,  and  are,  in 
many  cases,  seemingly  equal  to  the  Eskimo  in  fish- 
ing and  hunting  and  in  enduring  the  hardships  of 
a  northern  climate.  They  have  further  the  advan- 
tage in  cod  fishing  that  they  possess  a  considerable 
amount  of  foresight,  in  which  the  Eskimo  are  woe- 
fully lacking.  It  is  true  that  they  are  extremely 
ignorant  and  in  a  very  large  per  cent,  illiterate.  The 
reasons  for  this  are  many.  One  of  them  was  men- 
tioned above,  namely,  their  isolation.  During  the 
summer  they  fish  from  the  outlying  islands  of  the 
coast  and  during  the  winter  they  move  back  up  the 
bays  in  order  to  be  more  sheltered  and  to  reach,  if 
possible,  wooded  country  and  to  have  a  chance  to 
hunt  fur-bearing  animals.  Here  they  live  often 
twenty  miles  from  any  other  family,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  schools  under  these  circumstances  is 
practically  impossible.  Further,  the  government  of 
the  country  is  so  nominal  that  it  is  doubtful  if 


Cfte  La&raOor  people  31 

schools  would  be  established  even  were  there  more 
demand. 

In  spite,  however,  of  these  very  serious  draw- 
backs the  Labrador  liveyeres  *  are  splendid  people. 
They  are  bred  up  to  a  knowledge  of  the  country  in 
which  they  live,  which  is  astounding  to  a  city 
dweller.  They  have  a  sense  of  direction  which  al- 
most equals  that  of  the  caribou.  In  a  blizzard 
which  makes  it  impossible  to  see  for  more  than  ten 
yards  in  a  country  without  landmarks  they  will  find 
their  way  home,  although  they  have  strayed  twenty 
miles  inland.  They  are  also  sailors  of  the  very 
highest  grade  of  skill  and  agility.  By  what  power 
they  manage  to  sail  into  harbor  without  a  compass 
in  a  dense  fog,  when  this  means  the  one  chance 
which  would  take  them  in  any  other  direction  than 
out  over  the  broad  expanse  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  I 
am  utterly  at  a  loss  to  know. 

The  Labrador  people  are  religious,  honest  and 
law-abiding  to  a  marked  degree.  Their  simple 
piety  is  that  of  the  old  pioneers.  Through  inher- 
itance and  the  efforts  of  itinerant  preachers  visiting 
the  coast  in  summer  they  have  nearly  all  come  to 
regard  themselves  as  members  of  some  denomina- 
tion. Chief  among  these  are  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land (Episcopalian),  Methodist,  and  Catholic.  The 
Baptists  and  Salvation  Army  are  also  represented. 
Nowhere  is  the  futility  of  this  division  into  denom- 

*  Those  who  "live  here." 


32     Wiitb  Dr*  arenfcil  in  LabraDor 

inations  more  evident  than  here.  In  a  little  settle- 
ment like  Rigolette,  for  example,  the  factor  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  a  splendid  man,  extends  the 
hospitality  of  his  dining-room  table  to  three  differ- 
ent denominational  groups  each  Sunday.  Services 
are  held  by  lay  readers  or  a  chance  visiting  pastor. 
Dr.  Grenfell  always  uses  his  influence  to  break  down 
the  antipathy  between  the  adherents  to  creeds;  and 
the  services  which  he  occasionally  conducts  are  un- 
denominational. 

In  reality  the  religion  of  these  different  groups 
is  the  same.  It  is  strongly  orthodox  and  evangel- 
ical. 'Testimony  meetings"  are  held  and  eloquent 
harangues  result  in  men  and  women  declaring  them- 
selves "saved"  by  an  inner  "change  of  heart." 
While  it  is  difficult  for  a  more  sophisticated  person 
to  comprehend  this  sort  of  religion,  it  is  neverthe- 
less a  much  more  real  religion  than  the  so-called 
"liberal"  ones,  because  it  possesses  the  emotional 
appeal  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  real  religion, 
and  which  is  dying  out  in  the  "intellectual"  and 
"higher"  theologies. 

Because  their  religion  moves  them — and,  of 
course,  the  feelings  and  not  the  intellect  are  the  real 
cause  of  most  human  action — the  Labrador  people 
live  up  to  their  religion.  They  consider  it  wrong  to 
work  on  Sunday,  and  I  have  seen  a  poor  man  watch 
a  cod-trap,  his  only  means  of  livelihood,  carried 
away  by  an  iceberg  on  Sunday,  refusing  to  make  an 


Hk  4^*1 

K      %■■-.■ 

#*»•, 

n  -^n.'rhe  **t&a<iL  . 

Children  from  Dr.  Grenfell's  orphanage  on  one  of 
his  schooners  frozen  in  the  harbor 


Reindeer  caravan  hauling  logs;  approaching  frozen  harbor; 
author  leacjing 
facing  page  32 


C&e  La&raoot  people  33 

effort  to  rescue  it.  At  midnight  he  went  out  and 
did  what  he  could  to  save  the  remains ;  and  he  didn't 
whimper  over  his  terrible  loss.  Without  a  trace  of 
cant  he  said  quietly,  "D'Lord  knows  bes'  what  t'  do 
wid  me,  sure.  If  he'd  wished  me  t'have  d'trap  he'd 
a  left  un." 

One  respects  this  deep  faith,  even  though  it  seems 
at  times  foolishly  to  sacrifice  material  welfare.  In 
deference  to  it  Dr.  Grenfell,  hurried  as  he  is  in  the 
short  season  of  navigation,  does  no  traveling  on 
Sunday.  In  emergencies,  however,  he  draws  the  line. 
When  he  was  lying  in  port  one  Sabbath  day  a  man 
arrived  begging  him  to  visit  his  wife  who  had  been 
taken  seriously  ill  and  seemed  to  be  dying.  Dr. 
Grenfell  told  his  skipper  to  have  steam  up  in  ten 
minutes,  but  he  flatly  refused,  protesting  that  he 
couldn't  and  wouldn't  sail  on  Sunday.  Dr.  Grenfell 
carefully  explained  that  he  was  starting  solely  be- 
cause of  an  emergency,  which  probably  meant  life 
or  death.  Again  the  skipper  refused  to  start.  Dr. 
Grenfell  at  once  became  the  stern  fighter  who  has 
won  so  many  battles  against  hard  odds  on  the  coast. 

"Either  get  ready  to  weigh  anchor  in  ten  minutes 
or  go  ashore.  I  don't  need  you  to  navigate  my 
vessel."  The  skipper  was  a  man  of  considerable 
determination,  but  he  thought  the  matter  over,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  reported  the  vessel  ready,  and  set 
sail  on  Sunday  for  the  first  time  in  his  life.  An 
operation  was  necessary,  but  the  woman  recovered. 


34     Wiitb  Dr*  ©renfeii  in  JlatiraOor 

A  long  siege  and  several  daring  raids  by  Dr. 
Grenfell  have  pretty  effectually  driven  out  the  sale  of 
liquor.  This  is  an  advantage  hard  to  overestimate. 
Formerly  Labrador  was  always  famed  as  a  coast 
of  hard  drinking  and  wild  living.  Cartwright,  an 
eighteenth  century  trader,  often  enters  in  his  jour- 
nal, "All  hands  drunk  and  fighting."  Tradition  re- 
counts wild  orgies  at  weddings  and  wakes.  One 
does  not  have  to  be  a  temperance  enthusiast  to  de- 
plore the  drawback  that  liquor  was,  especially  in 
winter,  to  people  whose  lives  already  were  hard 
enough  and  often  enough  in  danger.  It  was  suffi- 
ciently bad  in  summer,  as  the  following  account  by 
the  worthy  Ephraim  Tucker  shows : 

"The  vice  of  intemperance  prevails  everywhere 
among  the  European  settlers  of  Labrador.  Scarcely 
a  family  can  be  found  among  them  who  do  not 
habitually  use  intoxicating  liquors.  It  is  a  prolific 
source  of  diseases  to  the  inhabitants,  and  more  or 
less  are  cut  off  every  season  in  the  prime  of  life 
from  its  fatal  influences.  The  following  fact  was 
related  to  me  by  a  native,  in  speaking  of  the  gross 
intemperance  of  the  shore  inhabitants  of  Labrador. 
As  he  was  coasting  one  day  up  the  Gulf,  during  a 
rough  sea  and  high  wind,  he  discovered  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  ahead  an  object  that  appeared  to 
be  floating  without  helm  or  guidance  upon  the 
waves.  He  hove  to,  in  order  to  ascertain  its  nature, 
and  soon  perceived  that  it  was  a  large  boat,  having 


C&e  La&raoor  people  35 

a  man,  woman  and  three  children  on  board.  The 
man,  who  was  afterwards  found  to  be  the  father  of 
the  children,  was  dead  drunk,  and  the  mother  so  far 
gone  under  the  influence  of  liquor  that  she  had  no 
more  apparent  regard  for  her  children  than  for  the 
fish  in  the  depths  of  the  ocean.  The  eldest  of  the 
children  was  twelve  years  of  age,  and  the  evil  prac- 
tices of  the  parents  had  been  followed  by  their 
unhappy  offspring,  who  were  evidently  unconscious 
of  any  danger.  The  captain  of  the  Newfoundland 
fisherman  kindly  took  them  on  board  and,  when 
they  had  roused  from  their  stupor,  informed  them 
of  the  peril  to  which  their  intemperance  had  ex- 
posed them,  and  admonished  them  to  beware  for  the 
future.  But  for  his  timely  succor,  they  would  in- 
evitably have  perished.  It  appeared  on  inquiry  that 
the  party  had  that  morning  been  out  in  their  boat  to 
purchase  a  few  articles  in  a  neighboring  harbor,  and 
that  there  the  trader  had  plied  them  well  with  rum, 
and  fitted  them  out  with  their  articles  in  the  midst 
of  a  gale,  heedless  whether  they  perished  or  not." 

In  strong  contrast  to  the  conditions  formerly  pre- 
vailing, Labrador  now  presents  a  clean  slate. 
Tramp  steamers  in  remote  ports  sometimes  dole  out 
rum  to  the  men  who  work  at  loading  her,  but  no 
liquor  is  sold  openly  and  there  are  no  "shabeens" 
for  its  secret  sale. 

The  Labrador  people  are  religious  in  spite  of 
their  few  ministers  rather  than  by  their  help,  be- 


36     Wiitb  Dr*  ©renfell  in  Labrador 

cause  with  one  or  two  exceptions  the  dispensers  of 
religion  are  not  of  an  inspiring  type.  The  coast 
is  the  dumping  and  training  ground  for  probation- 
ers who  often  regard  themselves  as  much-abused 
representatives  of  official  righteousness  and  fail  to 
enter  into  the  life  in  the  right  spirit.  A  church 
history  unconsciously  records  this  feeling  in  a  cer- 
tain Bishop  of  Newfoundland,  who  also  had  juris- 
diction over  Labrador.  He  was  a  fine  type  of  man 
himself,  and  cruised  the  coast  in  his  own  small  ves- 
sel. But,  "though  glorying  in  privations  and  hard- 
ships himself,  he  said  of  a  young  preacher  whom  he 
left  on  the  Labrador,  'Here  he  must  stay  alone, 
among  utter  strangers,  common  fishermen,  without 
house  or  home,  with  no  probability  of  retreat  or 
escape,  no  prospect  of  seeing  a  friend  or  even  get- 
ting a  letter  for  nearly  a  year.  He  must  eat  fish, 
and  little  else,  in  a  small  kitchen.  What  a  contrast 
to  an  English  curacy  !'  " 

An  ancient  story  of  the  Bishop's  visit  to  Labra- 
dor tells  how  he  found  a  liveyere  woman  absolutely 
ignorant  of  the  gospel.  "Don't  you  know,"  he  said, 
"that  Jesus  died  for  you?" 

"No  sir,"  she  replied  meekly,  "is  he  dead  sir? 
We-uns  don't  often  git  no  news  down  here." 

The  good  bishop's  reference  to  food  was  not 
without  point.  The  diet  of  the  liveyere  is  miser- 
able. It  was  a  great  surprise  to  me  to  find  how 
little  the  people,  of  southern  Labrador  especially, 


C&e  LatiraDor  people  37 

live  on  the  animal  food  of  the  country,  and  how 
much  they  depend  on  imported  goods.  This  is  less 
surprising  when  one  considers  that  most  of  them 
are  less  hunters  than  fishermen,  and  that  they  are 
not  nomadic,  as  a  hunting  race  has  to  be.  Further 
the  game  is  too  uncertain  and  varying  from  season 
to  season  to  make  it  safe  for  them  to  depend  on  it; 
and,  of  course,  it  is  becoming  gradually  less  plenti- 
ful. 

Along  the  Straits  and  the  northern  coast  the  peo- 
ple hunt  caribou,  and  whenever  these  are  numerous 
they  supply  themselves  with  meat  for  the  winter. 
Occasional  bears  are  eaten,  but  seal  meat,  which  is 
excellent,  is  chiefly  used  to  eke  out  their  provisions. 
Seal  is  fine-grained  flesh  with  a  gamey  flavor  like 
that  of  salt-water  duck.  Whales  are  almost  never 
killed  by  the  natives  now,  but  the  flesh  is  appetizing, 
and  I  found  it  almost  impossible  to  tell  it  from  beef, 
except  by  its  somewhat  coarser  grain.  The  large 
carcasses,  which  are  now  utilized  only  as  fertilizer 
by  the  commercial  whale-killers  in  their  factories, 
could  easily  be  canned  and  sold  at  low  cost,  but 
through  prejudice  the  people  would  probably  refuse 
to  eat  the  meat  until  a  long  campaign  of  education 
taught  them  its  value. 

The  many  varieties  of  ducks  are  shot  whenever 
possible  during  open  water  and  on  the  ice,  and  help 
to  keep  many  homes  from  illness  due  to  poor  nutri- 
tion.    In  winter  rabbits  are  snared  and  the  willow- 


38     mitb  2X  arenfell  in  ila&raOot 

grouse  or  "partridges"  are  eaten  in  large  numbers. 
Berries  are  abundant  on  the  coast  and  the  dwarf 
cranberry,  currants  and  a  Labrador  native  called  the 
"bake-apple"  are  barreled  in  water  and  allowed  to 
freeze.  When  needed  a  piece  of  berry-laden  ice  is 
chopped  out  and  thawed. 

The  mainstay  of  the  Labrador  diet,  however,  is 
flour.  It  is  used  as  bread,  and  is  mixed  with  water 
and  fried  or  boiled.  Next  comes  hardtack,  which 
is  even  better  liked  but  more  expensive.  Salt  pork 
is  largely  used  where  seal- fat  should  be.  Little  or 
no  sugar  can  be  afforded,  black  molasses  taking  its 
place.  About  the  nearest  Labrador  approach  to 
cake  is  the  famous  "  'lassy  pork-bun,"  of  which  I 
was  very  fond,  especially  for  dog-travel,  for  it  does 
not  freeze  readily.  It  is  flour  and  molasses  with 
squares  of  salt  pork  baked  in.  'Lassy  seal-bun,  in 
which  squares  of  seal-blubber  are  substituted,  is 
even  better. 

No  use  has  yet  been  made  by  the  liveyeres  of  the 
reindeer-moss  on  which  the  caribou  feed.  The  In- 
dians use  it  mixed  with  deer's  blood,  and  eat  noth- 
ing else  while  hunting.  I  ate  some  plain  and  found 
it  edible  but  tasteless,  reminding  one  too  much  of 
hay.  If  one  had  had  oil  and  vinegar,  an  agreeable 
salad  might  have  resulted. 

The  great  national  drink  is  tea,  brewed  strong 
and  drunk  often.  It  is  responsible  for  the  extraor- 
dinary prevalence  among  the  Labrador  people  of 


Cfje  La&raoor  people  39 

digestive  troubles.  No  other  beverage  is  widely 
used,  not  even  water.  Molasses  and  water  are 
sometimes  mixed  and  consumed;  and  guests  are 
offered  "red-berries"  in  water  with  molasses  added 
— a  sort  of  cranberry  lemonade.  In  the  spring 
many  people  brew  a  harmless  beer  from  the  tops  of 
spruce  trees. 

The  monotony  of  this  diet  is  not  only  uninviting, 
but  its  absolute  lack  of  greens  and  foods  containing 
certain  salts  is  dangerous.  The  reason  for  this  lack 
is  that  no  vegetables  are  raised.  Practically  the  only 
crop  on  the  coast  is  turnips  and  cabbages,  and  even 
these  are  often  killed  by  frost  in  midsummer.  Well 
inland,  up  the  sheltered  bays,  it  is  possible  to  raise 
some  things  adapted  to  a  short  season,  but,  as  the 
very  time  when  they  must  be  cultivated  is  the  busi- 
est part  of  the  fishing,  nothing  can  be  done.  Hence 
a  large  amount  of  scurvy  exists,  directly  due  to  lack 
of  fresh  food. 

In  the  Newfoundland  census  of  Labrador  appear 
on  one  page  ten  inhabited  harbors,  with  blanks  for 
the  year's  output  of  the  following  land  and  animal 
products  and  stock :  wheat,  barley,  oats,  hay,  pota- 
toes, turnips,  other  root  crops,  cabbages,  horses, 
cows,  other  cattle,  sheep,  swine,  goats,  fowl,  butter, 
wool,  furs.  Of  these  ten  harbors  the  crowning 
glory  was  a  total  live  stock  of  one  pig;  and  the 
total  crop  raised  (all  in  one  harbor)  was  a  barrel 
of  turnips  and  150  heads  of  cabbage.    All  the  other 


40    mitb  Dr*  <$unttll  in  lafiraDot 

spaces  were  blank,  except  furs,  of  which  61  had 
been  taken,  valued  at  $409. 

Those  who  consider  these  hard  conditions  intol- 
erable must  remember  the  other  side  of  northern 
life  presented  in  Dr.  Grenfell's  chapter  and  else- 
where, and  the  fact  that  these  hardships  are  largely 
responsible  for  that  strong,  modest,  efficient  race, 
the  Labrador  liveyeres. 


CHAPTER   III 


HUNTING   AND    FISHING 


In  Labrador  one  cannot  hunt  to  order,  on  sched- 
ule. It  is  not  the  place  for  the  business  man  who 
wants  to  sit  down  and  figure  out  exactly  how  to  get 
a  tan,  six  stories  and  two  heads  in  three  weeks  at 
$500.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  quarrel  with  the  ready- 
made  sportsman,  who  has  many  amiable  traits.  I 
merely  point  out  that  he  will  be  disappointed.  The 
place  for  him  is  southern  Newfoundland  in  the  fall. 
There  he  may  travel  a  bit  slowly,  but  in  comfort,  on 
the  little  railroad,  sending  his  servants  ahead,  of 
course,  to  prepare  the  camp.  He  may  have  a  com- 
fortable resting-place  prepared  not  far  from  the  toot 
of  the  locomotive,  and  between  the  meals  served  by 
his  chef  may  shoot  his  caribou  as  they  cross  the 
track,  migrating  south.  If  it  is  a  bit  damp  that  day 
he  can  have  his  chief  guide  shoot  the  deer  for  him. 
The  ladies  may  make  this  trip  in  perfect  comfort. 
They  should,  of  course,  bring  with  them  a  complete 
stock  for  the  larder,  including  evaporated  cream 
and  desiccated  eggs.  The  best  heads  are  not  to  be 
obtained  in  this  way,  but  can  easily  be  procured  of 

41 


42     Wtb  Dr*  <3itn(tll  in  JLaftra&ot 

the  taxidermist  at  home,  and  the  actual  killing  is 
jolly  fine  sport. 

Seriously,  it  is  possible  to  get  deer  with  the  min- 
imum trouble  in  southern  Newfoundland,  and  there 
are  plenty  of  trained  guides,  cooks  and  packers,  so 
that  a  modest  one-man  party  or  the  outing  of  a  club 
can  be  thoroughly  planned  in  advance  and  carried 
out  on  schedule,  with  practically  guaranteed  results, 
and  no  need  of  carrying  more  than  your  gun,  am- 
munition and  perhaps  tent  into  the  country.  Sim- 
ilar arrangements  are  possible  for  a  trouting  or 
salmon-fishing  trip.  The  Reid  Newfoundland  Rail- 
road runs  through  good  fishing  territory,  and  in 
some  places  there  are  actually  roads,  and  wagons 
can  be  hired  to  take  the  "sporters,,,  as  they  are 
called,  to  or  near  the  streams.  Hence,  for  those 
who  want  their  sport  assured,  southern  Newfound- 
land will  prove  very  satisfactory. 

In  Labrador  it  is  another  matter.  The  worst 
feature  is  the  extreme  uncertainty  of  everything. 
There  is  no  railroad  for  the  deer  to  cross,  and  their 
migration  seems  to  be  irregular.  Very  little  hunt- 
ing or  fishing  has  been  done  except  by  the  natives, 
and  they  seldom  have  time  for  it  in  summer.  For 
this  reason  it  is  hard  to  get  guides  until  pretty  late 
in  the  autumn.  As  mentioned  in  the  chapter  on  Ex- 
ploration, few  of  the  liveyeres  have  had  any  ex- 
perience as  regular  guides,  so  that  the  best  way  is 
to  bring  along  one's  own  Maine  or  Canadian  guides 


punting  and  JFfe&fng  43 

and  rely  on  one  or  two  liveyeres  for  knowledge  of 
the  country  only. 

Labrador's  biggest  game  is  the  whale.  Formerly 
it  was  hunted  in  small  boats  by  the  Eskimo,  but  this 
sport  has  vanished.  It  is  now  hunted  commercially, 
but  even  that  method  is  becoming  rare,  as  the  "big 
fish"  are  killed  off. 

The  whaling  steamer,  which  is  manned  largely 
by  Norwegians,  scours  the  sea  for  a  long  distance 
out  until  a  school  of  whales  or  a  single  one  or  two 
of  good  size  are  sighted.  Then  she  swoops  down 
upon  them,  singles  out  the  best  and  chases  him 
until  near  enough  to  shoot.  The  old  captain  stands 
at  the  gun  in  the  bow  and,  when  the  psychological 
moment  arrives,  aims  and  fires.  Out  shoots  the 
harpoon,  to  which  is  attached  a  strong  cable. 

When  first  hit  the  whale  dives  and  the  line  whips 
out,  coil  after  coil.  To  the  first  length  is  attached 
another  and  another;  and  sometimes  half  a  mile  of 
rope  hitches  the  wounded  whale  to  the  steamer. 
The  harpoon  is  constructed  like  an  umbrella,  and 
the  pull  of  the  line  opens  its  steel  barbs,  which  hold 
as  securely  as  an  anchor.  It  is  also  equipped  with 
an  automatic  bomb  which  explodes  inside  the  whale. 
Even  with  this  humane  precaution,  the  whale  lives 
for  a  considerable  time,  and  makes  a  terrible  fight 
for  life. 

After  staying  down  as  long  as  possible  he  turns 
and  rushes  to  the  surface,  shooting  out  of  the  water 


44     WLitb  Dr,  (Srenfeii  in  Ha&raHot 

sometimes  his  whole  length.  He  then  either  dives 
again  or  strikes  off  at  great  speed,  his  tremendous 
strength  whipping  the  steamer  through  the  water, 
though  her  engines  may  be  reversed  and  exerting  all 
their  power  to  pull  her  backward.  Although  the 
danger  is  much  less  than  in  the  days  of  open-boat 
whaling,  it  is  by  no  means  absent.  The  whale,  after 
diving,  may  come  up  under  the  steamer  and  cause 
considerable  damage.  The  whalers  tell  a  story, 
which  has  to  be  taken  with  a  grain  of  salt,  of  one 
whale  which  rose  at  great  speed  beneath  the  steamer 
and,  crashing  through  her  bottom,  lodged  himself 
so  tightly  in  the  galley  amidships  as  to  stop  the 
awful  hole  he  had  made  and  enable  the  ship  to 
reach  port  in  safety  with  the  whale  practically  a 
passenger. 

To  be  so  close  to  this  sea-hunting  gives  one  a 
sense  of  familiarity  with  the  long-gone  whalers  of 
the  old  New  England  ports,  hardy,  rough-living 
heroes,  of  whom  the  Labrador  affords  a  few  last 
representatives. 

Next  to  the  whales  come  the  caribou.  Labrador 
is  a  great  country  for  caribou;  and  it  is  unfor- 
tunate that,  as  the  natives  are  busy  fishing  in  sum- 
mer and  never  have  time  to  hunt,  few  sportsmen 
have  tried  it  in  that  season.  It  will  be  pioneer  work, 
but  ought  to  bring  results.  There  seem  to  be  two 
distinct  herds,  a  northern  and  a  southern,  although 
it  is  possible  that  at  times  they  travel  far  enough 


punting  anO  JFisJring  45 

to  come  together.  The  vast  area  which  they  cover 
makes  it  impossible  for  even  the  Indians  of  the  in- 
terior to  keep  accurate  track  of  their  moving. 

In  the  fall  and  winter  occurs  the  big  killing.  The 
natives  of  the  southern  shore  make  fairly  frequent 
and  long  trips  into  the  interior  with  their  Eskimo 
dogs  and  sleds,  and  bring  out  heavy  loads  of  car- 
casses. Some  years  the  deer  do  not  come  near 
enough  to  the  coast  to  be  reached  without  too  long 
trips;  other  years  find  the  deer  almost  out  to  the 
houses,  so  that  the  dogs  make  hunting  forays  alone 
as  their  wolf  ancestors  did,  and  successfully  bring 
down  the  game. 

The  Indians  of  the  interior  gather  for  a  huge 
round-up  at  which  many  animals  are  killed.  So 
much  do  they  depend  on  the  deer  that  a  scarcity 
one  year  invariably  cuts  down  their  already  fast 
diminishing  numbers. 

The  Eskimo  of  the  north  coast  do  not  go  far 
inland,  but  near  Davis  Inlet  they  conduct  a  grand 
hunt  in  a  not  too  sportsmanlike,  but  unusual,  man- 
ner. A  yearly  migration  takes  place  here,  and  if 
the  leader  of  the  deer  follows  the  usual  custom  the 
whole  herd  is  led  over  a  height  of  land  made  by 
nature  into  a  narrow  pass  from  which  there  is  no 
escape  sideways.  The  Eskimo  build  a  stone  wall  to 
narrow  it  and  lie  down  behind.  Then,  as  thousands 
of  deer  pour  through  they  spear  enough  for  a  year's 
supply  of  venison.      Some  have  long,   steel-shod, 


46     Wlitb  Dr*  <$m\fz\l  in  Ha&rador 

spear-like  attachments  on  their  feet,  with  which  they 
deal  a  death-blow. 

There  are  many  animals  in  Labrador  that  one 
would  not  expect  to  find  there,  for  instance,  er- 
mines, martins,  skunks,  beavers,  porcupines,  hares, 
squirrels,  and  mice  of  various  kinds.  Of  birds  there 
are  eagles,  hawks,  owls,  ravens,  crows,  woodpeck- 
ers, grouse,  partridge,  pheasants,  pigeons,  thrushes, 
larks,  swallows,  cranes,  bitterns,  snipe,  plovers, 
geese,  ducks,  teal,  and  widgeon  in  many  varieties. 
Frogs,  grubs,  spiders,  etc.,  are  found  in  a  frozen 
state  as  far  north  as  latitude  6i°,  and  can  be  re- 
animated by  exposure  to  gentle  heat.  White  whales 
are  found  in  considerable  numbers  at  the  mouths  of 
the  principal  rivers;  and  along  the  coast  a  small 
and  very  delicious  fish,  called  kipling  or  capelin,  re- 
sorts at  times  in  vast  numbers,  but  this  as  well  as 
salmon,  and  indeed  every  species  of  animal,  whether 
fish,  flesh,  or  fowl,  is  so  variable  in  its  arrival  that 
the  liveyeres  must  provide  a  plentiful  supply  at  sea- 
sons when  they  can  get  it.  Geese  are  particularly 
useful  on  this  account,  and  it  is  not  uncommon  to 
kill  two  or  three  hundred  at  a  time. 

Grasses  of  different  sorts  are  not  uncommon,  but 
the  ground  is  principally  covered  with  Caledonia  or 
reindeer  moss,  upon  which  the  deer  feed.  The  herb 
called  Wee-suc-a-pucka  grows  in  the  interior,  and 
the  Indians,  as  well  as  the  settlers,  make  a  kind  of 
tea  from  the  leaves  and  flowers  of  this,  called  Lab- 


punting  anO  JFisfting  47 

rador  tea,  which  is  supposed  to  be  extremely  pal- 
atable and  salutary,  particularly  in  relieving  rheu- 
matic pains,  strengthening  the  stomach,  etc. 

As  the  result  of  importation  many  years  ago  Lab- 
rador is  well  stocked  with  American  rabbits,  which 
make  a  very  agreeable  variety  in  the  food  of  the 
natives.  The  nature  of  the  soil  is  so  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  habits  of  these  animals  that  they  have 
multiplied  astonishingly,  and  they  are  alone  pre- 
vented from  becoming  too  numerous  by  a  similar 
increase  of  rats,  probably  the  progeny  of  those  that 
have  escaped  from  wrecks.  Great  numbers  of  the 
latter  perish  in  the  course  of  the  winter  and  the 
rainy  weather  of  the  spring  and  autumn.  During 
the  early  part  of  the  summer,  gulls,  ducks,  divers 
and  other  wild  fowl  lay  an  immense  quantity  of 
eggs  on  the  islands,  and  parties  from  the  shore  fre- 
quently sail  out  and  fill  their  boats  with  them.  At 
the  approach  of  winter  these  birds  migrate  south. 
Soon  after  the  settlement  of  the  New  England  col- 
onies, this  place  became  a  favorite  resort  of  fisher- 
men for  the  purpose  of  killing  morse  and  seal.  The 
former  are  nearly  exterminated,  but  the  latter  still 
afford,  during  the  season,  a  favorite  employment  to 
the  people.  There  are  several  species  of  the 
"Phoca"  family.  The  male  is  sometimes  eight  feet 
long,  and  weighs  800  pounds;  but  the  female  is 
much  smaller.  The  color  of  the  former  is  nearly 
black,  and  of  the  latter  a  dark,  speckled  gray.    Their 


48     Wiitb  Dr*  ©tenfcll  in  JLafiraDor 

hair  is  short  and  rough,  and  on  the  neck  of  the  male 
is  a  little  longer  than  elsewhere.  The  forelegs  are 
about  two  feet  long,  and  the  hinder  ones  two  inches 
or  so  less,  the  feet  being  divided  by  five  toes,  sep- 
arated by  a  large  web,  and  spreading  to  the  extent 
of  twelve  inches.  The  seals  are  prodigiously  strong, 
swimming  at  the  rate  of  seven  miles  an  hour,  and 
are  very  tenacious  of  life,  often  surviving  the  most 
severe  wounds. 

When  up  the  rivers  they  live  in  families,  each 
male  being  attended  by  several  females,  whom  he 
guards  with  great  jealousy.  The  young  ones,  at 
twenty  days,  are  nearly  white,  and  their  flesh  bears 
a  resemblance  to  that  of  sucking  pigs.  The  males 
when  old  are  deserted  by  the  females.  They  then 
live  apart  from  the  rest,  and  become  exceedingly 
fierce  and  quarrelsome.  Their  contests  are  often 
violent  and  sanguinary,  and  they  inflict  wounds  on 
each  other  not  unlike  the  cuts  of  a  saber.  At  the 
termination  of  one  of  these  battles  they  throw  them- 
selves into  the  sea  to  wash  away  the  blood.  Al- 
though by  no  means  so  numerous  as  they  were  in 
former  years,  seals  still  resort  to  the  Labrador 
waters  in  great  numbers.  They  arrive  on  the  north- 
east coast  early,  for  the  purpose  of  whelping,  and 
remain  there  for  the  space  of  a  month;  when  the 
pups  are  about  twenty-five  days  old,  preparations 
are  made  by  shore  parties  for  attacking  them.  Each 
person  is  armed  with  a  club,  five  or  six  feet  in 


punting  anD  JFfeftfng  49 

length,  made  of  oak  or  ash,  the  butt  being  trans- 
fixed with  a  piece  of  steel,  one  end  of  which  is 
shaped  like  a  spike,  and  the  other  formed  into  a 
hook  or  blade. 

As  the  seals  seldom  move  far  at  this  period,  the 
party  approach  with  great  caution  and  silence,  and 
when  within  about  200  yards  they  rush  in  between 
the  seals  and  the  water  and  commence  the  attack. 
Each  man  selects  the  largest  as  the  object  of  his  par- 
ticular pursuit,  and  strikes  him,  on  the  back  part  of 
the  head,  several  blows  with  the  steel  pike.  He  then 
applies  the  blade,  in  the  same  manner,  to  the  wound 
thus  inflicted,  and  repeats  the  blows  till  the  animal 
is  brought  to  the  ground.  The  strength  and  fierce- 
ness of  this  species  of  seal  are  such  that  this  attempt 
is  not  unaccompanied  with  danger,  and  when  he 
turns  on  his  pursuer  he  wards  off  the  blow  so  dex- 
terously that  he  sometimes  seizes  the  club  in  his 
mouth  and  escapes.  An  ordinary  handspike  would 
be  altogether  useless,  and  a  gun  is  equally  ineffec- 
tual. When  driven  off  the  ice  the  seals  land  again 
and  are  pursued  in  the  same  manner;  after  which 
they  disappear  altogether  until  the  ensuing  year. 

The  chief  value  of  the  seal  consists  in  the  oil. 
When  the  animal  is  killed  the  fat  is  peeled  off  with 
knives,  and  the  blubber  tried  out.  The  skin  of  a 
full-grown  one  is  worth  about  two  dollars.  The 
proceeds  of  the  sales  of  both  the  skins  and  the  oil 


50     £2Jtt&  Dr*  ©renfell  in  ila&raDor 

in  very  good  years  reach  thousands  of  dollars  for  a 
single  harbor,  but  this  is  rare. 

Sealing  is  exciting,  whether  carried  on  from  land 
or  vessel.  An  old  sealing  skipper  told  me  the  fol- 
lowing story  of  a  voyage  on  which  Dr.  Grenfell  ac- 
companied him: 

The  ship  was  stuck — not  "ashore"  on  a  sand- 
bank nor  "ketched  up"  on  a  hidden  rock,  but 
jammed  in  the  ice  eighty  miles  off  the  Labrador 
coast.  She  was  the  Hound,  a  small  steamer,  one  of 
a  hundred  steamers  and  schooners  of  various  sizes 
which  each  year  compose  the  seal  "fishery."  Sixty 
years  before  she  had  been  a  British  man-of-war  with 
open  decks,  and  her  massive  oak  hull  was  a  relic  of 
the  times  when  an  apprentice  was  hung  for  careless 
work.  She  had  been  built  with  a  view  to  perma- 
nency, not  novelty ;  and  even  now,  although  she  had 
been  jammed  in  a  vast  floe  for  two  days,  ground  on 
all  sides  by  the  ice,  she  had  thus  far  stood  the  strain, 
with  only  an  occasional  creak  and  the  scrapings  of 
her  outer  paint  on  the  snow-covered  ice-edge  to 
show  the  struggle. 

The  regular  crew  and  the  three  hundred  sealers 
were  below  decks,  seizing  their  opportunity  to  lay 
in  a  stock  of  "grub."  The  cook  and  his  boy  were 
laboring  under  the  captain's  order  of  "Six  meals  a 
day,  b'y,  an'  tea  when  dey  waants  it."  On  deck  the 
captain  stepped  back  and  forth,  talking  to  Doctor 
Grenfell,  proud  to  have  the  genial  skipper  of  the 


punting  anD  jFfc&fng  51 

whole  coast  as  his  shipmate.  The  watch  in  the 
crow's  nest  was  cursing  the  ship's  luck  and  wishing 
that  the  mate  would  come  up  and  strike  eight  bells 
for  a  shift  of  watches;  for,  though  the  air  was 
clear,  it  was  bitter  cold,  and  as  he  stood  in  the  small 
barrel  he  had  ceased  to  feel  the  wind  blowing 
through  every  seam  of  his  many-layered  clothes, 
and  no  longer  cared  to  stamp  or  fling  his  stiff  arms. 
He  felt  that  most  of  him  was  solid  as  frozen  beef, 
and  the  cold  had  penetrated  everywhere  except  his 
stomach;  every  breath  chilled  his  lungs;  his  face 
felt  like  a  mask  and  his  legs  like  posts. 

The  glaring  light  bounding  from  sun  to  ice  and 
back  hurt  his  eyes,  even  through  his  dark  glasses; 
and  it  was  such  a  hopeless  task,  looking,  searching 
the  white  horizon  for  "swoil"  (seal),  until  he  could 
see  them  by  thousands,  and  only  proved  the  vision 
false  by  noticing  that  it  appeared  in  whatever  direc- 
tion he  looked.  Somewhere  along  the  coast  to  the 
north,  south,  east  or  west  of  them,  from  five  to  a 
hundred  miles  away,  was  the  colony  of  thousands, 
or  perhaps  millions  of  seals,  mostly  females  with 
their  new-born  pups,  scattered  for  miles  on  huge 
pans  of  ice.  As  the  young  "white-coats"  usually 
arrive  about  March  20,  they  must  now  be  about  a 
week  old  and  still  timid  about  taking  to  the  water. 

Upon  the  ability  of  the  captain  to  divine  where 
to  go  for  the  prey  depended  the  success  of  the  voy- 
age;  for  it  is  only  for  a  few  weeks  that  the  seals 


52     mitb  Dr*  ©rental  m  JLa&ratior 

lie  most  of  the  time  upon  the  ice  and  can.be  killed 
by  hundreds;  and  if  during  this  time  the  ship  fails 
to  find  them  she  goes  back  empty-handed  to  her 
owners,  the  crew  have  earned  nothing  for  their 
labor  except  their  food,  and  the  skipper's  career  is 
ended.  If,  however,  they  reach  a  patch  of  seals 
before  too  many  others  arrive,  they  kill  thousands 
and  load  the  vessel  in  three  days,  cramming  pelts 
in  every  conceivable  corner,  even  tearing  down  the 
bunks  and  sleeping  on  top  of  the  seals,  just  below 
the  deck.  If  they  reach  the  market  at  St.  Johns 
safely  the  owners  receive  a  certain  share  of  the 
profits,  the  lucky  skipper  one-tenth  of  the  whole; 
and  the  men  share  the  rest,  which  often  amounts  to 
$100  a  man. 

Capt.  Eli  Munter  had  been  "goin'  to  d'ice"  from 
his  fifteenth  winter  to  his  seventy-fifth,  and  had  al- 
ways had  at  least  two  offers  of  "a  berth"  each 
spring.  In  his  youth  he  was  in  demand  because  he 
was  a  "rig'lar  handy  young  feller,  loose  as  ar'  man 
on  d'ice."  "Still  an'  all,"  he  told  me  modestly, 
"dere  was  plenty  b'ys  was  more  active  nor  I."  Now 
his  "call"  to  "go  master"  of  the  biggest  craft  on 
the  coast  was  his  unerring  ability  to  find  the  white- 
coats.  "Sure  I  'How  Skipper  Eli's  h'able  to  smell 
swoil  twice  as  fur  agin's  er  can  see  un,"  maliciously 
laughed  a  discomfited  skipper  the  year  before  when 
he  had  returned  "clean,"  while  Eli's  decks  were 
piled  to  the  rail     So  when  toward  night  the  wind 


fuming  anD  jFisfring  53 

shifted  and  the  ice  began  to  "go  abroad"  the  crew 
were  hearty  once  more,  and  the  mate  eagerly  re- 
sponded to  the  order,  "Nort'  by  Eas\  an'  kape  her 
to  it.     Extry  han'  a  for'ard  in  d'head  of  her." 

All  night  they  pushed  on  full  speed  ahead,  against 
the  stiff  wind  which  swept  the  ice  southward  by 
them  in  a  steady  volley.  Many  slight  shocks  woke 
the  trained  crew  and  set  half  of  them  pulling  on 
their  boots,  only  to  learn  that  no  damage  had  been 
done.  The  captain  slept  the  first  half  of  the  night, 
and  Dr.  Grenfell  turned  in  also,  though,  owing  to 
his  years  as  skipper  of  his  hospital  steamer,  the 
Strathcona,  he  woke  at  each  change  of  watch  and 
every  slight  collision,  ready  for  any  emergency; 
then,  as  further  evidence  of  his  sailor's  training, 
he  promptly  fell  asleep  again.  He  had  finished  his 
slumbers  by  four  o'clock  and  turned  out  with  the 
captain. 

"  'Tis  a  civil  marnin',  sir,"  said  the  skipper.  "Ye 
see,  when  a  man  has  d'v'yage  o'  dis  one  on  his  mom' 
er  can't  res'  easy;  but  I  was  'llowin'  you'd  take  a 
spell,  sir.  You  does  a  martal  sight  o'  work  enough 
to  merit  a  res'." 

"Well,  I  can't  lie  still  when  there's  anything  to 
be  done.  Besides  six  hours  is  all  I  need.  I  wanted 
to  see  how  far  along  we  were.  We  ought  to  hit 
the  seals  to-day."  The  running  ice  began  to  close 
up  because  of  the  opposite  wind  and  tide,  and  later 
the  dawn  revealed  another  huge  field  of  ice  glimmer- 


54    fflJit!)  Dr*  <$nnitll  in  La&raBor 

ing  painfully.  As  the  ship  approached  the  men 
made  out  immense  pans  of  ice  a  mile  or  more  long, 
surrounded  by  countless  smaller  ones  between  which 
the  ship  made  her  way.  Some  flocks  of  ducks 
seemed  to  be  "pitched"  on  the  ice;  but  when  the 
captain  saw  them  he  seized  his  glass  and  eagerly 
climbed  the  rigging.  "Ah,  den,  b'ys,"  he  chuckled, 
as  he  climbed  leisurely  down,  "we're  as  good  as 
loaded,  whatever.  Dem  swoils  is  so  t'ick  as  floys  on 
a  caribou  wid  de  itch."  And  the  news  ran  down 
into  the  forecastle. 

"All  han's  git  to  rights,"  sang  out  the  mate,  and 
all  was  hustling  preparation,  the  men  strapping 
fagots  of  firewood  on  their  shoulders  and  filling 
their  sealskin  nunny-bags  with  hard  bread  and  'lassy 
pork  buns,  while  others  sharpened  their  "gaffs"  or 
boat-hooks,  and  iron-shod  clubs.  The  ship  now 
found  herself  in  a  blind  lead,  so  the  ice-grapnels 
were  thrown  out  and  all  hands  except  the  captain 
and  cook  leapt  over  the  side. 

A  few  expert  shots  were  armed  with  rifles  and, 
from  a  short  distance,  shot  many  of  the  old  seals. 
The  majority  hurried  on  over  the  hummocky  sur- 
face until  they  reached  the  crying  white-coats  and 
then  began  "swatching,"  killing  the  defenseless 
creatures  with  their  clubs,  and  with  their  sheath- 
knives  cutting  out  the  flesh  and  leaving  the  skin  and 
the  layer  of  fat  next  it.  These  "pelts"  were  quickly 
"panned"  or  piled  up,  and  the  army  went  on. 


punting  anD  jFisinng  55 

Dr.  Grenfell  soon  wearied  of  this  hideous  slaugh- 
ter and  even  found  shooting  the  parent  seals  rather 
tame,  so  he  gave  his  gun  to  a  grateful  old  sealer  and 
advanced  with  the  first  men  to  attack  the  old 
"harps"  with  his  iron-shod  club.  These  fight  stub- 
bornly for  their  young,  and  with  their  swift  dodg- 
ing and  powerful  blows  with  bared  tusks  prove  a 
good  match  for  an  active  man.  After  a  battle  of 
twenty  minutes,  during  which  he  perspired  danger- 
ously in  spite  of  the  cold,  Dr.  Grenfell  killed  a  large 
harp,  and  had  just  bathed  his  boots  in  the  hot  car- 
cass to  warm  his  feet  when  he  perceived  a  big  dog 
hood-seal  a  few  rods  distant,  attacked  by  a  young 
fellow  who  evidently  had  been  ignorant  of  the  dan- 
ger of  this  species.  Although  the  boy  was  using  his 
club  with  all  his  strength,  the  inflated  bladder,  or 
hood,  protected  the  seal's  most  vulnerable  parts — 
the  nose  and  skull ;  and  by  clever  dodging  the  beast 
caught  all  blows  on  this  hood,  thus  fending  them 
from  his  body.  At  every  opportunity  he  shot  out 
his  neck  to  gash  the  man's  legs  with  his  tusks,  and 
was  steadily  driving  him  toward  the  water. 

Dr.  Grenfell  ran  to  the  boy's  aid,  and  dodged 
back  and  forth  in  a  futile  attempt  to  deal  a  death- 
blow. At  last  when  the  seal  struck  at  the  boy  the 
doctor  got  in  a  quick  blow  just  back  of  the  neck, 
and  they  added  the  largest  pelt  thus  far  panned — 
eleven  feet  long — to  the  nearest  pile. 

Through  the  constant  addition  of  small  pans  the 


56    mitb  Dr*  arenfell  in  LafitaOot 

floe  was  now  about  five  miles  broad,  and  Dr.  Gren- 
fell  with  fifty  others  had  pushed  on  nearly  to  its 
edge.  They  were  still  working  away,  and  Dr.  Gren- 
fell  had  hacked  forty-five  notches  in  his  gaff,  when 
darkness  began  to  descend  with  northern  rapidity, 
and  the  party  turned  toward  the  ship,  judging  the 
direction  by  sense  only.  The  pan  on  which  they 
were  was  a  mile  broad ;  and  they  hurried  across  it. 
With  horror  they  found  that  it  no  longer  lay  next 
to  the  others,  but  that  a  slight  shift  of  wind  had 
scattered  the  whole  floe  and  their  pan  was  at  least  a 
quarter  mile  from  any  other.  The  ship  was,  of 
course,  out  of  sight.  All  sorts  of  suggestions  were 
made  by  those  coming  up.  When  they  realized  that 
nothing  could  be  done,  their  hopeless  condition  and 
the  fatigue  of  the  day  were  almost  too  much,  and 
they  sat  about  in  spiritless  agony. 

Dr.  Grenfell  was  not  a  bit  weighed  down.  "Come 
on,  don't  mooch  (be  idle)/'  he  said  gaily.  "Skipper 
Eli  won't  go  off  without  us,  you  know.  It's  not  the 
first  time  we've  spent  a  night  in  the  open.  Let's  get 
a  fire  here  and  boil  the  kettle."  There  was  one  in 
the  group.  He  soon  had  the  whole  crowd  playing 
leap-frog;  and  the  night  was  spent  in  trials  of 
strength  and  games. 

The  steamer  cruised  about  for  half  the  night, 
having  picked  up  the  rest  of  the  men;  then,  fearing 
to  lose  her  position  altogether,  she  lay  to  until  morn- 
ing.    About  dawn  the  men  were  sighted  and  taken 


punting  anD  jFt0|)ing  57 

aboard,  a  thoroughly  hungry  and  cold,  but  not  dis- 
heartened lot,  ready  to  load  the  steamer  with  their 
kill  of  the  day  before,  and  thankful  to  the  doctor 
for  "keepin'  we  to  rights." 

Hamilton  Inlet  is  a  good  field  for  shooting.  Dur- 
ing a  brief  trip  there  we  separated  into  two  parties, 
one  to  camp  out  over  night  near  a  swamp  and  shoot 
geese,  while  another  was  to  shoot  up  a  brook  and 
sleep  at  a  small  native  house.  The  Inlet  (otherwise 
called  Eskimo  or  Gross  water  Bay)  is  a  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  long,  connecting  Northwest  River  with 
the  sea.  We  chose  a  region  near  a  cove  called 
Tikoralik,  not  very  far  from  the  settlement  of  Rigo- 
let.  (It  would  have  been  possible  to  get  men  from 
the  Hudson  Bay  post  there  to  take  us  up  the  bay, 
but  fortunately  we  had  our  own  boat.) 

The  party  out  for  geese  had  a  long  wait  but  were 
eventually  rewarded  by  good  shots  at  several  flights 
which,  thanks  to  skilful  work,  Dr.  Grenfell  excel- 
ling, for  he  is  a  wonderful  shot,  resulted  in  a  change 
in  our  larder  from  canned  and  salted  food  and  fish. 
The  brook  party  set  out  along  the  beach,  keeping 
back  in  patches  of  tall  grass  and  young  fir-trees; 
this  section  inland  and  along  the  bay  being  well 
wooded.  We  saw  several  yellow-legs,  which  we 
stalked  and  shot,  when  we  could  sufficiently  approx- 
imate them.  Our  attempts  were  made  in  a  very 
unostentatious  manner,  we  wriggling  along  on  the 
ground.     I  lived  half  the  time  in  mortal  terror  lest 


58     mitb  Dr*  <&nntell  in  La&taOoc 

my  partner  should  cock  his  gun  too  soon,  and  catch 
the  trigger  in  the  grass  as  he  slid  through  the  marsh 
behind  me.  His  state  of  mind  was  probably  much 
the  same,  so  we  each  managed  to  save  the  other's 
life  by  not  shooting  him. 

We  got  several  yellow-legs  and  a  bunch  of  tender 
beach-birds.  Further  on  some  ducks  sailed  down 
the  little  valley  in  which  flowed  the  brook  which  we 
were  following.  Half  hidden  by  the  underbrush 
along  the  banks,  we  waited  in  panting  excitement 
until  they  were  nearly  opposite,  and  our  volley 
caught  them  before  they  were  able  to  turn. 

Seeing  no  more  birds  we  turned  our  attention  to 
the  brook  itself,  and  soon  found  a  pool  in  which 
trout  were  jumping.  We  used  mainly  "Silver  Doc- 
tor" flies,  but  even  caught  several  with  the  native 
equipment:  a  hook  with  a  bit  of  red  flannel.  By 
five  o'clock  we  had  seventy-seven,  and  they  were 
still  coming.  Many  of  them  weighed  two  pounds 
each. 

Reaching  a  little  liveyere's  house  at  dark,  we  were 
entertained  with  unstinted  hospitality,  and  were 
soon  enjoying  a  glorious  supper  of  pink  brook 
trout,  bread  and  butter;  the  latter  proving  the  fam- 
ily very  prosperous.  After  a  sleep  in  a  wooden-box 
bed,  we  stepped  out  on  a  deer-skin  rug,  bathed  with 
spring-water,  breakfasted  on  another  mess  of  trout, 
and  were  off.  It  seemed  that  our  occupation  of  the 
"spare-room"  had  caused  the  adult  members  of  the 


punting  attO  jFtetnng  59 

family  to  sleep  in  the  common  living-room  and 
kitchen. 

That  morning  we  shot  more  birds  and  caught 
more  trout  in  the  same  pool.  Cooking  them  over  a 
log-fire  gave  a  welcome  heat,  for  it  was  a  cold  day ; 
in  fact,  a  little  snow  had  fallen  during  the  morning, 
and  all  the  little  pools  in  the  marsh  were  frozen 
over.  We  got  back  on  board  late  in  the  afternoon, 
and  admired  the  goodly  stock  of  geese,  ducks,  shell- 
birds  and  jack-snipe  caught  by  the  other  party. 

Another  trip,  from  Battle  Harbor,  took  us  up 
Lewis  Inlet,  which  runs  thirty  miles  inland  at  that 
point.  Trees  began  to  show  themselves,  very  low 
ones,  succeeded  by  taller  and  taller  trunks  as  we 
got  farther  from  the  coast.  When  we  landed  occa- 
sionally we  noticed  several  fresh  bear-tracks,  and 
much  regretted  that  we  could  not  stop  to  hunt  the 
owners.  Birds  flew  around  and  over  us  as  we  went 
along,  including  gulls,  kitewakes,  and  "pigeons"; 
and  we  saw  two  or  three  bay-seals  swimming  in  the 
still  water,  but  were  not  near  enough  to  shoot  them. 

In  general  the  farther  north  one  hunts  the  better. 
One  party  hunted  for  a  day  near  Port  Manvers,  half 
on  the  mainland  and  the  others  on  Black  Island. 
They  had  two  settlers  as  guides ;  and  secured  a  black 
bear  and  a  caribou  before  noon. 

The  officers  of  a  German  battleship  which  vis- 
ited these  waters  had  similar  luck.  In  addition  they 
shot,  not  far  south  of  Cape  Chidley,   four  polar 


60     witb  Dr*  ©renfell  in  La&raOor 

bears.  North  Labrador  is  now  the  only  practical 
point  for  this  game ;  but  only  five  years  ago  a  polar 
bear  actually  landed  a  few  miles  south  of  the  north- 
ern tip  of  Newfoundland,  crossed  to  the  Straits 
and  swam  off  again. 


CHAPTER   IV 


COMMERCIAL     LABRADOR 


Labrador  is  a  country  which  is  perhaps  remark- 
able in  the  simplicity  of  its  economic  organization. 
Fishing  is,  of  course,  the  chief  industry.  This  is 
carried  on  by  two  classes  of  people — the  perma- 
nent inhabitants,  and  the  fishermen  who  visit  the 
coast  in  the  summer.  The  latter  come  usually  in 
schooners,  each  year  in  increasing  numbers,  so  that 
now  over  a  thousand  vessels  visit  the  coast  each 
season.  Formerly  a  large  number  of  Gloucester 
fishermen  were  found  on  the  coast,  but  now,  al- 
though there  are  a  number  on  the  Banks,  there  are 
few  further  north.  The  number  of  Nova  Scotia 
men  is  also  lessening;  and  the  majority  of  the  vis- 
itors are  Newfoundlanders.  In  many  cases  the 
crew  is  composed  of  sons  and  cousins,  with  the 
father  as  skipper.  Their  vessels  are  made  of  the 
soft  northern  timber,  spruce  or  larch,  and  often  are 
built  by  the  members  of  the  family  themselves  in 
their  own  little  cove,  only  the  rigging  and  fittings 
being  imported. 

The  visiting  fishermen  who  come  in  schooners 
61 


62     Wiitb  2X  &unftll  in  Lafiratior 

almost  always  carry  their  fish  south  "green/'  that 
is,  treated  with  salt  alone.  On  reaching  St.  Johns 
or  the  outports  of  Newfoundland  it  is  then  properly 
cured  in  the  sun,  which  produces  much  better  fish 
than  the  lack  of  sun  allows  on  the  Labrador  coast. 

In  addition  to  the  sailing  fishermen,  there  are 
many  hundreds  of  people  who  come  in  families  to 
the  coast,  either  as  passengers  on  the  schooners, 
on  the  early  mail  boats,  or  as  freighters  brought 
in  wholesale  lots  in  the  traders'  steam  vessels  and 
distributed  along  the  coast.  These  people  live  in 
the  most  temporary  shacks  and  fish  from  the  shore 
in  small  boats  with  hand  lines,  or  set  trap-nets.  In 
most  cases  their  welfare  is  looked  out  for  to  a 
certain  extent  by,  and  their  catch  is  turned  over 
to,  one  of  the  large  traders. 

Both  among  the  sailing  crews  and  on  shore,  a 
very  curious  relation  between  master  and  employed 
is  found.  This  is  known  as  the  "share  system." 
The  skipper  usually  taking  most  of  the  risk  finan- 
cially, and  providing  both  the  gear  and  provisions 
as  well  as  the  brains,  is  naturally  entitled  to  the 
larger  part  of  the  returns.  Accordingly  the  net 
proceeds  are  divided  into  two  parts;  the  skipper 
takes  half,  and  the  other  half  is  divided  equally 
among  the  men  of  the  crew,  including  the  skipper. 
For  example,  if  the  skipper  has  two  men,  and 
catches  300  quintals,  his  share  is  200  and  that  of 
the  men  50  each. 


Commercial  JLaftraDot  63 

Farther  north  the  system  is  slightly  different,  the 
skipper  taking  only  half  the  fish  and  dividing  the 
remainder  between  the  share-men.  There  is  often 
a  ship's  boy  who  cooks  and  does  sundry  work,  but 
is  not  considered  to  be  earning  a  man's  share,  and 
so  is  given  a  small  lump  sum  for  the  season,  or  as 
"five-quintal  boy"  receives  five  quintals  out  of  every 
hundred  caught.  Sometimes  crews  have  boys  on 
half -share  or  quarter-share;  and  men  minus  an  arm 
or  otherwise  deficient  come  under  a  similar  head- 
ing, whereas  a  man  owning  a  part  of  the  net  re- 
ceives two  shares  or  more:  so  that  the  calculation 
of  shares  becomes  a  problem  which  often  has  to  be 
referred  to  the  doctor.  I  recommend  examples 
like  the  above  to  makers  of  arithmetics,  as  a  change 
from  Johnny  and  the  Apples. 

On  land  there  are  many  large  and  small  fishing 
establishments  known  as  fishing  "rooms."  Each 
of  these  is  run  exactly  like  a  ship,  the  master  being 
called  the  skipper  and  his  men  the  crew.  They 
are  at  his  orders  night  and  day,  and  are  paid  on 
the  share  system.  It  can  easily  be  seen  that  in  a 
bad  year,  when  little  or  no  fish  is  caught,  the  share- 
men,  like  the  independent  fishermen,  find  themselves 
with  practically  nothing  as  a  result  of  their  sea- 
son's work,  with  which  to  face  the  winter.  Some 
few  avoid  this  risk,  and  at  the  same  time  forfeit 
the  gambling  chance  of  a  large  catch,  by  shipping 
with  one  of  the  big  traders  for  wages.    The  share- 


64    Wiitb  Dr*  ©rcnfeil  in  LaftraDot 

system  is  more  frequent,  however,  and  extends  most 
largely  through  the  relation  of  the  traders  to  their 
so-called  "planters,"  who  are  outfitted  more  or  less 
free,  for  a  share  of  the  catch. 

Very  naturally  the  leading  families  of  the  coast 
are  those  which  own  the  "rooms"  and  the  vessels. 
Members  of  the  poorer  families  hire  themselves 
out.  In  each  "room"  there  are  one  or  two  women 
who  assist  the  skipper's  wife  and  daughters  in  the 
culinary  department  of  the  establishment.  They 
also  share  in  the  work  of  curing  the  fish;  and  the 
salting,  which  is  a  very  exact  operation,  is  fre- 
quently done  by  a  woman.  Unfortunately,  the  cook 
on  many  of  the  vessels  is  also  often  a  woman,  but 
the  number  of  these,  except  in  cases  where  the 
skipper's  daughter  travels  with  him,  is  gradually 
being  lessened.  The  difficulty  is,  of  course,  that, 
with  the  extremely  limited  living  accommodations 
in  the  cabin,  there  is  very  little  privacy;  and  the 
lack  of  another  woman  associate  is  also  unfortu- 
nate. 

The  commercial  part  of  the  fishery  is  carried 
on  chiefly  by  seven  or  eight  large  firms  with  head- 
quarters in  St.  Johns.  They  have  vessels  which 
visit  the  various  harbors  and  gather  the  cured  fish 
both  from  the  people  themselves  and  from  the  local 
agents.  These  tramp  steamers  then  carry  the  fish 
either  to  St.  Johns  to  be  resold,  or  direct  across 
the  ocean  to  the  Mediterranean,  where  it  finds  a 


Commercial  HafctaOot  65 

sale  in  Greece  and  the  Azores.  Very  little  of  the 
fish  is  exported  to  America,  because  it  is  not  suf- 
ficiently well  cured  to  be  able  to  compete  with  the 
Norwegian  and  Gloucester  product. 

Much  smaller  in  extent  is  the  salmon  fishery 
which  is  carried  on  in  the  northern  bays  by  fam- 
ilies. There  are  rather  fewer  crews  engaged  in  this 
branch  of  work,  but  the  trading  companies  pursue 
it  at  Cartwright,  Rigolet  and  various  other  places. 
The  salmon  are  smoked  or  salted,  enclosed  in  large 
barrels  called  tierces  and  then  shipped  south. 

The  only  other  industry  of  any  size  is  the  fur 
trade,  in  which  the  majority  of  permanent  fisher- 
men engage  to  greater  or  less  extent  during  the 
winter.  They  are  usually  outfitted  by  the  traders, 
but  work  by  families;  living  isolated  at  distances  of 
15  or  20  miles  apart.  The  majority  of  the  furs 
are  eventually  bought  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany or  its  recent  rival,  Revillon  Freres.  This  latter 
company  has  established  a  post  practically  next 
door  to  each  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  stations 
and,  in  its  zeal  for  competition,  has  in  some  cases 
raised  the  price  of  furs  bought  from  the  catcher  to 
a  point  equal  to  their  price  in  New  York.  In  the 
majority  of  cases,  however,  the  conditions  enable 
both  companies  to  buy  the  fur  at  considerably  less 
than  its  value  further  south. 

Judging  from  the  old  records  and  from  personal 
recent  experience,  the  amount  of   furring  on  the 


66    Wiitb  Dr*  (Srenfell  in  Labrador 

Labrador  is  far  less  than  formerly,  and  even  than 
fifty  years  ago.  The  reasons  are  deforestation  by 
fire  and  consequent  dying  out  of  fur-bearing  and 
edible  animals,  causing  the  dying  out  of  large  num- 
bers of  Indians  and  the  turning  of  more  whites  to 
fishing,  hence  in  turn  less  trapping.  In  fact,  rather 
curiously  the  dying  off  of  the  Indians  has  again 
made  game  plentiful  in  parts  of  northern  Labrador, 
and  revived  hunting,  only  to  lessen  the  game  again. 
This  cycle  has  transpired  repeatedly  in  the  history 
of  the  north. 

The  furs  caught  in  Labrador  have  the  world-wide 
reputation  of  being  the  best  in  North  America,  ex- 
cept for  muskrats;  they  are  generally  firmer  and 
of  a  richer,  darker  coloring.  The  principal  species 
are  red,  white,  cross  and  silver  foxes,  marten,  mink, 
otter,  black  bear,  lynx,  beaver,  wolverine  and  wolf. 

The  firm  of  Revillon  Freres  has  one  main  sta- 
tion in  Labrador,  in  charge  of  the  factor.  Fifty  to 
a  hundred  miles  distant  are  outposts,  each  in  charge 
of  a  white-man  or  half-breed,  and  regularly  visited 
once  a  year  by  the  Post-Manager.  The  main  sta- 
tion receives  its  goods  and  supplies  once  a  year,  in 
August,  by  a  sailing  vessel. 

How  much  business  this  company  and  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company,  together  with  occasional  traders, 
do  on  the  coast  each  year  is  hard  to  say,  and  varies 
greatly  from  year  to  year,  but  the  average  value 


Commercial  LafcraOot  6^ 

of  the  furs  taken  out  of  Labrador  each  year  is 
over  $200,000. 

For  people  who  live  in  poor  furring  sections 
toward  the  south,  or  who  strike  an  off  year,  or  for 
men  who  have  failed  in  the  fishing,  there  remains 
hardly  any  other  occupation,  and  for  this  reason  the 
winter  was  for  years,  and  still  is  to  many,  a  season 
very  greatly  to  be  dreaded.  Gruesome  tales  are 
still  told  which  have  been  proved  to  be  absolutely 
true,  of  men  who,  having  exhausted  their  provi- 
sions, run  out  of  powder  and  shot,  and  failed  to  get 
help  from  distant  and  equally  needy  neighbors,  have 
finally  disposed  of  their  families  and  themselves 
with  an  axe,  in  order  to  avoid  starvation.  Only 
last  winter  a  northern  hunter  was  found  standing 
up  against  a  tree,  frozen  to  death,  chiefly  because 
he  was  in  an  extremely  weak  condition  from  lack  of 
food.  Dr.  Grieve,  on  his  northern  trip  in  the  win- 
ter, always  finds  a  number  of  families  already  re- 
duced to  rations  of  plain  flour,  and  often  a  few  with 
^no  flour  even,  subsisting  on  rock  cod  caught  through 
deep  holes  in  the  harbor  ice.  They  have  nothing 
to  turn  over  to  the  trader  in  exchange  for  further 
supplies,  and  in  fact  not  infrequently  the  trader 
has  already  advanced  them  practically  all  he  has. 

These  conditions  will  of  course  only  be  reme- 
died when  some  other  means  of  livelihood  is  in- 
troduced for  the  sustenance  of  the  people  in  the 
winter.     Owing  to  the  lack  of  demand,  extremely 


68     MJitf)  Dr*  <$untzll  in  LafitaOot 

low  wages  prevail  when  men  are  hired.  A  few 
years  ago  it  was  possible  to  hire  a  man  for  the  en- 
tire winter  of  seven  or  eight  months  for  $12  and 
his  keep,  and  even  now  little  more  than  actual  food 
and  clothing  can  be  obtained  by  a  man  for  his 
services  in  winter.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  Dr. 
Grenfell  has  established  the  mill  at  Inglee  in  Canada 
Bay,  where  men  whose  summer  catch  has  been  a 
blank,  and  whose  families  might  otherwise  starve  or 
suffer  extreme  want,  are  given  an  opportunity  to 
work  during  the  winter. 

Dr.  Grenfell  is  responsible  for  the  chief  efforts 
to  increase  and  better  the  industrial  activities  of 
the  coast.  Of  major  importance  is  his  work  in 
establishing  cooperative  stores.  With  the  people 
scattered  and  in  many  cases  illiterate,  the  traders 
have  in  the  past  been  able  to  take  serious  advantage 
of  them.  The  worst  result  of  this  has  been  the 
prevalence  of  the  truck  or  barter  system  of  trade, 
under  which  men  turned  over  their  fish  and  furs 
and  received  in  return  their  supplies  for  the  winter, 
consisting  of  flour,  salt  pork,  molasses  and  tea.  I 
saw  several  men  on  the  coast  who  had  never  seen 
silver  or  paper  money.  The  result  is  that  the  fisher- 
man is  continually  in  ignorance  of  his  exact  stand- 
ing and  in  fact  or  belief  continually  in  debt.  Com- 
petition by  other  traders  is  killed  because  a  man 
once  in  debt  finds  it  necessary  to  turn  over  all  his 
products  to  his   creditor.     Debt  is  handed   down 


Commercial  ilafcranot  69 

from  father  to  son,  and  amounts  in  many  cases  al- 
most to  slavery. 

The  system  also  keeps  the  people  poor  and  ill- 
nourished  and  is  responsible  for  a  large  part  of 
the  disease  with  which  the  hospitals  have  to  con- 
tend. Regulation  of  this  trade  is  more  or  less  out 
of  the  question.  A  law  has  been  passed  in  New- 
foundland prohibiting  trucking,  or  trading  without 
cash,  but  in  a  country  like  Labrador  its  enforcement 
is  impossible.  Even  the  very  men  who  would  be 
benefited  by  it  are  afraid  to  implore  its  aid,  for  fear 
of  the  traders'  wrath. 

The  only  way  out  of  the  difficulty  was  to  render 
the  fishermen  independent  of  the  traders  and  in  a 
large  measure  this  has  been  accomplished.  At 
Red  Bay  you  will  see  a  little  one-story  store  which 
last  year,  in  spite  of  an  exceedingly  poor  fishery, 
did  a  successful  business  and  constructively  main- 
tained its  members  in  comparative  plenty.  This 
same  store  pays  its  fishermen  members  an  average 
of  30  per  cent,  dividends  on  their  stock.  It  was 
this  same  store  which  was  organized  first  by  a 
dozen  fearsome  fishermen  who  conducted  their 
work  in  secrecy,  in  order  that,  if  the  enterprise 
failed,  the  trader  would  not  let  them  starve  the 
following  winter.  Six  or  seven  other  cooperative 
stores  have  been  established,  and,  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  have  been  extremely  successful  under 
native  managers.    The  only  exceptions  were  due  to' 


70    ffiBfti)  Dr*  (Stenfell  in  LafcraUot 

the  excessive  kind-heartedness  of  the  manager,  who 
against  his  better  judgment  gave  advance  credit 
to  people  in  extreme  need. 

The  stores  succeed  because  they  buy  the  fish  from 
their  members  for  cash,  export  it  themselves  to 
the  South  and  import  outfits  and  food  at  the  low- 
est possible  prices.  The  profits  are  then  divided 
among  the  fishermen  members,  thus  reducing  their 
outlay  considerably.  This  work  is  absolutely  sepa- 
rate from  the  International  Medical  Mission. 

The  second  effect  of  the  stores  has  been  indirect. 
Through  their  means,  competition  has  been  insti- 
tuted, which  makes  it  practically  possible  for  any 
man  on  the  coast  to  obtain  cash  for  his  products. 
The  traders'  prices  have  also  been  very  greatly 
lowered  and  their  standards  of  business  consider- 
ably improved. 

Further  industrial  work  has  been  carried  on  at 
one  or  two  of  the  Mission  stations.  The  weaving 
of  homespun  has  been  taught,  and — even  more 
hopeful — this  work  has  been  extended  by  the  people 
themselves  into  other  communities.  Many  of  the 
men  are  excellent  carpenters  and  they  have  built 
their  own  looms  after  the  models,  and  those  who 
have  had  the  advantage  of  training  have  taught 
others.  When  the  spread  of  reindeer  makes  possi- 
ble the  introduction  of  other  domestic  animals,  such 
as  sheep,  this  knowledge  will  greatly  improve  the 
living  conditions  of  the  people. 


Commercial  fta&raoor  71 

Local  pottery  has  been  made  and  carving  has 
been  taught,  and  for  all  these  products  there  is 
more  demand  in  America  and  Canada  than  can  be 
supplied  for  a  considerable  time.  Recently  an  ef- 
fort has  been  made  to  teach  some  of  the  people  the 
cutting  and  polishing  of  labradorite,  a  beautiful 
iridescent  stone  found  in  considerable  quantities 
on  the  coast.  In  the  Straits,  at  several  ports,  an 
industry  for  the  manufacture  of  sealskin  boots 
flourishes,  and  here  also  the  output  is  less  than  the 
demand.  As  I  write  this,  word  comes  from  Dr. 
Grenfell  that  the  sawmill  has  made  several  addi- 
tions to  increase  its  output,  and  that  the  coopera- 
tive store  at  St.  Anthony  has  been  reorganized  and 
is  doing  a  large  business. 


CHAPTER   V 


EXPLORATION 


Labrador  is  one  of  the  least  explored  and  mapped 
countries  remaining.  There  are  thousands  of  square 
miles  as  yet  untrod  by  civilized  men.  When  one 
considers  its  comparative  nearness  to  the  thickly 
populated  regions  of  North  America,  there  is  no 
country  which  compares  with  it  in  virginity. 

The  Eskimo  have,  as  far  as  men  know,  never 
hunted  far  inland.  The  two  tribes  of  Indians  have 
roamed  at  will,  but  there  are  probably  many  areas 
that  even  they  have  not  seen — sections  away  from 
the  waterways  and  several  regions  which  their  tra- 
ditions regard  as  inhabited  by  the  Evil  Spirit. 

In  former  days  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  had 
several  posts  in  the  interior  of  northern  Labrador, 
now  abandoned,  and  their  factors  made  many  long 
inland  trips  with  the  Indians.  Most  of  these  trips 
are  now  a  matter  of  hazy  tradition  and  conjecture. 
The  Moravian  missionaries,  who  for  several  hun- 
dred years  have  taken  good  care  of  the  Eskimo, 
have  traveled  little  inland,  but  some  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries  have   come  in    long   ago    from   Canada. 

72 


OBiploratiott  73 

A  United  States  Ethnological  Bureau  expedi- 
tion has  explored  some  of  the  territory.  Sev- 
eral parties  have  crossed  from  Quebec  to  the  Labra- 
dor coast.  A  summary  of  these  trips  is  given  by 
Mr.  Cabot  in  "Northern  Labrador."  But  Labra- 
dor presents  to-day  vast  opportunities  for  original 
research  to  both  amateur  and  scientific  explorers. 
Especially  in  science  is  the  field  open. 

One  of  the  earliest  scientific  explorations  was 
led  to  Labrador  in  1891  by  the  late  Leslie  A.  Lee, 
Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Geology  in  Bowdoin  College 
and  State  Geologist  of  Maine.  He  had  previously 
been  in  charge  of  scientific  work  on  the  Albatross, 
United  States  Fish  Commission  steamer,  during  an 
expedition  to  South  America,  and  was  a  noted  man 
of  science  well  qualified  for  the  task.  In  their  own 
vessel  his  party  of  twenty  scientific  men  explored 
the  Labrador  coast  as  far  as  Hopedale  and  secured 
excellent  and  exact  ethnological  and  biological  data. 

Four  of  his  men  explored  the  Northwest  and 
Grand  Rivers  and  discovered  a  wonderful  gorge 
which  they  named  Bowdoin  Canon,  and  were  the 
first  to  measure,  photograph  and  record  the  Grand 
Falls,  a  cascade  rivaling  Niagara  and  twice  as  high. 
The  falls  were  known  to  tradition  as  having  been 
seen  by  two  employees  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany. A  Mr.  Holmes  from  England  attempted  in 
1888  to  reach  the  falls,  without  success.  Soon 
after  the  Bowdoin  Expedition's  trip  a  Philadelphia 


74    auit!)  Dr*  arenfell  in  itafiraOot 

party  went  in  and  reached  the  falls;  and  in  1910 
a  party  of  Yale  men  r'epeated  the  feat. 

Extreme  hardships  were  borne  by  Professor 
Lee's  men,  as  the  story  is  modestly  told  by  one  of 
the  party. 

Nine  miles  were  made  the  day  of  the  first  carry 
and  camp  was  reached  at  the  beginning  of  rough 
water  on  the  Horse  Shoe  Rapid.  Here  the  first 
evidence  of  shoes  giving  out  was  seen.  Constant 
use  over  rough  rocks  while  wet  proved  too  much 
for  even  the  strongest  shoes,  and  when  Cary  and 
Cole  returned  there  was  not  leather  enough  between 
them  to  make  one  decent  shoe.  Rain  made  the 
night  uncomfortable,  as  the  light  shelter  tent  let 
water  through  very  easily  and  was  then  of  little 
use.  At  other  times  the  camps  were  very  comforta- 
ble. Upon  arriving  at  the  spot  selected,  two  men 
would  at  once  set  about  preparing  their  brush  for 
beds,  pitching  the  tent,  etc.,  while  the  other  pro- 
vided wood  for  the  camp  and  for  the  cook,  in  which 
capacity  Cary  officiated. 

The  party  believed  that  a  good  night's  rest  was 
indispensable  where  the  day  was  filled  with  the 
hardest  kind  of  labor,  and  spared  no  pains  to  se- 
cure it.  Even  on  the  return  Cary  and  Cole,  when 
half  starved,  stuck  to  their  practice  of  making  com- 
fortable camps,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  wonder- 
ful way  they  held  out  under  their  privations  was 
largely  due  to  this.     While  many  in  their  predica- 


a&ploraticm  75 

ment  would  have  thrown  away  their  blankets,  they 
kept  them  and  on  every  cold  and  stormy  night  con- 
gratulated themselves  that  they  had  done  so. 

At  Horse  Shoe  Rapids  the  first  accident  hap- 
pened. Tracking  there  was  extremely  difficult  and 
dangerous.  Shortly  after  dinner  a  carry  was  made, 
taking  three  and  a  half  hours  to  track  out  a  path 
up  and  along  a  terrace  about  fifty  feet  high.  Shortly 
after  this  the  boat  used  by  Cary  and  Smith  cap- 
sized, emptying  its  load  into  the  river.  At  the  same 
time  Cary  was  carried  from  his  footing  and  just 
managed  to  grasp  the  line  as  he  came  up,  and  escape 
being  borne  down  the  stream.  When  things  were 
collected,  and  an  inventory  taken  of  the  loss,  it  was 
found  to  include  about  one-fourth  of  the  provisions, 
the  barometer  and  chronometer  rendered  useless 
and  practically  lost,  measuring  chain,  cooking  uten- 
sils, rifles,  with  much  of  the  ammunition,  axe  and 
small  stores  lost.  One  day  was  used  in  making  the 
length  of  the  lake,  and  at  the  camp  at  its  head 
Young  and  Smith  turned  back. 

A  very  badly  swelled  hand  and  arm  caused  by 
jamming  his  thumb  had  prevented  Young  from 
getting  any  sleep,  and  threatened  speedily  to  become 
worse.  This,  in  connection  with  the  loss  of  pro- 
visions in  the  upset,  made  it  expedient  to  send 
the  two  men  back.  The  returning  party  was  given 
the  best  boat,  the  best  of  the  outfit  and  provisions 
for  six  days,  in  which  they  could  easily  reach  the 


76     mitb  Dr*  arenfeli  in  La&raoor 

mouth  of  the  river.  Meantime  Cary  and  Cole 
pushed  on  into  what  was  tp  prove  the  most  eventful 
part  of  their  journey. 

The  lake  is  simply  the  river  valley  with  the  ter- 
races cleaned  out,  and  was  probably  made  when  the 
river  was  much  higher,  at  a  time  not  far  removed 
from  the  glacial  period.  The  head  of  the  lake  is 
full  of  sand  bars  and  shoals,  much  resembling  the 
mouth  of  the  river  as  it  opens  out  into  Goose  Bay. 
On  both  sides  of  the  lake  mountains  rise  steeply 
for  1,000  or  1,200  feet.  Its  average  width  is  from 
two  to  three  miles  and  it  has  three  long  bends  or 
curves.  Only  one  deep  valley  breaks  the  precipi- 
tous sides,  but  many  streams  flow  in  over  the  ridge, 
making  beautiful  waterfalls. 

On  Monday,  the  last  day's  advance  in  the  boats 
was  made,  the  water  becoming  too  swift  to  be 
stemmed.  This  day  Cary  got  the  second  ducking  of 
the  trip — a  very  good  record  in  view  of  the  rough- 
ness of  the  work  and  the  smallness  of  the  boats. 
During  this  and  the  day  previous  an  otter,  a  crow 
and  a  robin  were  seen. 

The  next  day  the  boats  and  the  provisions,  ex- 
cepting a  six  days'  supply  carried  in  the  packs,  were 
carefully  cached,  and  at  10:45  camp  was  left  and 
the  memorable  tramp  began.  Each  man  carried 
twenty-five  pounds.  The  stream  was  followed  a 
short  distance,  then  the  abrupt  ascent  to  the  plateau 
climbed,  old  river  beaches  being  found  all  the  way 


(Exploration  77 

up.  From  a  birch  knoll  the"  river  was  in  view  for 
quite  a  distance  and  a  large  branch  was  seen  mak- 
ing in  from  the  west. 

At  1 1 145  a.  m.  the  Grand  Falls  were  first  seen. 
The  falls  proper  are  about  200  feet  high  and  just 
above  the  river  narrows  from  250  to  50  yards, 
the  water  shooting  over  a  somewhat  gradual  down- 
ward course  and  then  plunging  straight  down,  with 
terrific  force,  the  distance  mentioned,  and  with  an 
immense  volume.  The  fall  must  be  grander  at  other 
seasons,  for,  while  the  party  was  there,  the  ground 
quaked  with  the  shock  of  the  descending  stream, 
and  the  river  was  nearly  at  its  lowest  point.  At  the 
bottom  is  a  large  pool  made  by  the  change  of  direc- 
tion of  the  river  from  south,  at  and  about  the  falls, 
to  nearly  east  below.  The  canon  begins  at  the  pool 
and  extends,  with  many  turns  and  windings,  for 
twenty-five  miles  through  Archean  rock.  Above  the 
falls  in  the  wide  rapids,  the  bed  is  of  the  same  rock, 
which  seems  to  underlie  the  whole  plateau. 

The  very  fact  of  having  succeeded  made  the  re- 
turn distance  shorter  and  fatigue  more  easily  borne, 
so  they  traveled  along  at  a  brisk  pace,  surveying 
at  times,  and  little  thinking  of  the  disaster  that  had 
befallen  them.  Camp  was  made  on  the  river  bank, 
beneath  one  of  the  terraces  which  lined  both  sides. 

When  they  arose  the  march  back  to  the  best  cache 
was  resumed.  Toward  night,  as  they  approached 
the  place,  smoke  was  seen  rising  from  the  ground, 


78     Ulitb  Dr*  arenfell  in  LafcraUor 

and,  fearing  evil,  the  men  broke  into  a  run  during 
the  last  two  miles.    As  Cary's  journal  puts  it : 

"We  arrived  at  our  camp  to  find  boat  and 
stores  burnt  and  the  fire  still  smoking  and 
spreading.  Cole  arrives  first,  and  as  I  come 
thrashing  through  the  bushes  he  sits  on  a  rock 
munching  some  burnt  flour.  He  announces 
with  an  unsteady  voice:  'Well,  she's  gone.' 
We  say  not  much,  nothing  that  indicates  poor 
courage,  but  go  about  to  find  what  we  can  in 
the  wreck,  and  pack  up  for  a  tramp  down  river. 
In  an  hour  we  have  picked  out  everything  use- 
ful, including  my  money,  nails,  thread  and 
damaged  provisions,  and  are  on  the  way  down 
river  hoping  to  pass  the  rapids  before  dark, 
starting  at  5." 

The  extinguished  camp-fire  had  crept  underneath 
through  the  peaty  soil.  Their  position  was  certainly 
disheartening.  They  were  150  miles  from  their 
nearest  cache,  and  nearly  300  miles  from  the  nearest 
settlement,  already  greatly  used  up,  needing  rest  and 
plenty  of  food,  with  boat  and  provisions  burnt. 

The  next  day  the  battle  for  life  began.  This 
day  several  trout  were  caught,  line  and  hooks  being 
part  of  each  man's  outfit,  and  two  square  meals 
enjoyed,  which  proved  the  last  for  a  week.  A  raft 
was  made  that  would  not  float  the  men  and  baggage, 
and  being  somewhat  discouraged  on  the  subject  of 


a&ploration  79 

rafting  by  the  failure,  the  men  did  not  then  at- 
tempt another,  but  continued  tramping.  Following 
the  river,  they  found  its  general  course,  between 
the  rapids  and  Lake  Wanimikapo,  S.  S.  E.  During 
part  of  that  day  and  all  the  next  they  followed  in 
the  track  of  a  large  panther,  but  did  not  get  sight 
of  him. 

After  this  some  time  every  morning  was  usually 
occupied  in  mending  shoes.  All  sorts  of  devices 
were  resorted  to  to  get  the  last  bit  of  wear  out  of 
them,  even  to  shifting  from  right  to  left;  but  finally 
Cole  had  to  make  a  pair  of  nondescripts  from  the 
leather  lining  of  his  pack.  Cranberries  were  found 
during  the  day  and  at  intervals  during  the  tramp, 
and  were  always  drawn  upon  for  a  meal.  About 
two  quarts  were  added  to  the  stock  of  provision, 
and  a  supper  was  made  of  a  red  squirrel  and  a  pint 
of  stewed  cranberries.  It  was  a  long  gruelling  trip 
to  the  coast,  entailing  great  hardship. 

Finally  they  reached  the  schooner  and  their  jour- 
ney was  done.  Seventeen  days  had  been  used  in 
making  the  300  miles,  all  but  seventy- five  of  which 
were  covered  afoot.  When  they  came  in,  besides 
the  blankets,  cooking  tins  and  instruments,  nothing 
remained  of  the  outfit  with  which  they  started  on 
the  return  except  three  matches  and  one  cartridge 
for  the  revolver,  which,  in  Cole's  hands,  had  proved 
their  mainstay  from  absolute  starvation. 

As  they  climbed  over  the  side  of  the  vessel  in  the 


80     Witb  Dr*  (Srcnfell  in  JLafiraOor 

harbor  they  were  nearly  deafened  with  exclamations 
that  their  appearance  called  out,  and  by  the  ques- 
tions that  were  showered  on  them.  At  last  some 
order  was  restored,  and  after  pictures  had  been 
made  of  them  just  as  they  came  aboard,  dressed  in 
sealskin  cassock,  ragged  remnants  of  trousers  and 
shirts,  they  were  given  an  opportunity  to  make 
themselves  comfortable  and  eat  supper,  and  then 
the  professor  took  them  into  the  cabin  to  receive  an 
account  of  their  work. 

It  was  many  days  before  their  haggard  appear- 
ance, with  sunken  eyes  and  dark  rings  beneath 
them,  and  their  extreme  weakness,  disappeared. 

Meantime  the  vessel  had  explored  further  parts 
of  the  coast.  At  Northern  River  Professor  Lee 
very  fortunately  encountered  a  camp  of  Montagnais 
Indians.  Measurements  of  some  twenty-five  of  this 
nation,  heretofore  unknown  to  anthropometric  sci- 
ence, were  made,  and  a  full  collection  of  the  house- 
hold utensils  peculiar  to  their  tribe  was  procured. 
Several  "Nascopies"  were  among  them  and  were 
also  measured. 

The  only  remains  of  the  picturesque  national 
costume  that  they  saw  was  the  cap.  The  women 
wore  a  curious  knot  of  hair,  about  the  size  of  a 
small  eggf  over  each  ear,  while  the  men  wore  their 
hair  cut  off  straight  around,  a  few  inches  above 
the  shoulders. 

Some  curious  scenes  were  enacted  while  Profes- 


(Exploration  81 

sor  Lee  was  trading  for  his  desired  ethnological 
material.  With  inexhaustible  patience  and  imper- 
turbable countenance,  he  sat  on  a  log,  surrounded 
by  yelping  dogs,  and  by  children  and  papooses  of 
more  or  less  tender  ages  and  scanty  raiment,  play- 
ing on  ten-cent  harmonicas  that  had  for  a  time 
served  as  a  staple  of  trade,  struggling  with  the  dogs 
and  with  their  equally  excited  mothers  and  sisters 
for  a  sight  of  the  wonderful  basket  from  whose  ap- 
parently inexhaustible  depths  came  forth  yet  more 
harmonicas,  sets  of  celluloid  jewelry,  knives,  combs, 
fish-hooks,  needles,  etc.,  ad  infinitum.  The  men, 
whose  gravity  equaled  the  delight  of  the  women 
and  children,  held  themselves  somewhat  aloof,  sel- 
dom deigning  to  enter  the  circle  about  the  magic 
basket,  and  making  their  trades  in  a  very  dignified 
and  careless  fashion. 

That  these  people  are  capable  of  civilization  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  Missing  the  interpreter,  without 
whom  nothing  could  be  done,  the  professor  in- 
quired for  him  and  learned  that  he  had  returned 
to  his  wigwam.  Upon  being  summoned  he  said  he 
was  tired  of  talking;  thereupon  the  professor  be- 
thought himself  and  asked  him  if  he  wanted  more 
pay.  The  interpreter,  no  longer  tired,  was  willing 
to  talk  all  night. 

At  Eskimo  Island,  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  lake, 
a  stop  was  made  and  a  few  bones  dug  up  from  the 
Eskimo  graves  that  abound  there. 


82     wiitb  Dr*  (©renfeii  m  LafcraDor 

About  fifty  Eskimo  were  measured  and  photo- 
graphed ;  three  large  houses,  comprising  the  ancient 
Eskimo  village  of  "Avatoke,"  which  means  "May- 
we-have-swalex,"  i.  e.,  seals,  were  surveyed,  pho- 
tographed and  then  thoroughly  excavated.  All  this 
was  under  the  leadership  of  the  Professor.  Other 
parties  led  by  the  Captain  made  trips  into  the  neigh- 
boring sounds  and  bays  and  secured  quite  a  lot  of 
codfish;  and  the  evenings  were  very  pleasantly 
spent  cultivating  the  acquaintance  of  the  Moravian 
missionaries. 

The  remains  of  the  village  of  "Avatoke"  have 
been  deserted  for  over  ioo  years  and  the  village 
was  in  its  prime  centuries  before  that.  The  out- 
lines of  their  houses,  roughly  eight-sided,  about 
thirty-six  feet  across,  and  each  having  a  long  nar- 
row entrance,  are  marked  by  walls  now  about  five 
feet  high  and  ten  feet  thick.  In  front  of  this  row 
of  houses,  which  look  toward  the  sea,  are  shell 
heaps  of  considerable  depth  and  extent,  abounding 
in  broken  implements,  pottery  and  bones. 

While  part  of  the  force  were  employed  carefully 
raking  over  these  heaps  of  "kitchen  midden,"  others 
were  measuring  the  walls,  excavating  them  and  also 
the  floors,  which  were  beautifully  laid  with  immense 
flag  stones,  making  photographs  and  identifying 
and  labeling  the  finds. 

Small  carvings  of  walrus  ivory,  stone  lamps,  por- 
tions  of   komatik    runners   and    harness,    needles, 


(Exploration  83 

whetstones,  arrow  heads,  portions  of  seal  spears, 
of  kyaks  and  bones  innumerable  were  among  the 
finds. 

Professor  Lee's  expedition  was  the  forerunner 
of  several  others,  including  that  of  Hubbard  and 
Wallace,  and  it  serves  to  illustrate  definitely  what 
will  be  done  in  the  future.  A  group  of  scientific 
men  or  pleasure-seekers  or  both,  even  if  they 
have  only  a  summer  at  their  disposal,  will  find 
in  Labrador  an  almost  unlimited  field,  accessible 
in  a  practical  way.  By  hiring  a  fishing  schooner  at 
St.  Johns,  or  better  one  of  Dr.  Grenfell's  sailing 
vessels  with  auxiliary  motor,  they  can  leisurely 
cruise  the  coast,  finding  a  good  harbor  available 
each  night.  Or  they  can  sail  straight  to  Ungava 
or  Hudson  Bay,  or  across  to  Baffin  Land.  In  the 
latter  regions  the  Eskimo  are  still  more  primitive. 

I  have  recently  seen  remains  of  ancient  Eskimo 
villages,  of  glacial  beaches  and  upheavals,  and  the 
breeding  islands  where  thousands  of  ducks  nest. 
Even  near  Rigolette  I  found  very  old  Eskimo 
graves,  and  although  tftis  place  had  been  frequently 
visited  there  were  still  parts  of  skeletons,  bone  im- 
plements and  stone  vessels. 

Such  a  schooner  as  mentioned  above  is  provided 
with  her  own  crew  and  a  skipper  who  knows  the 
coast  thoroughly.  A  trip  of  this  kind  is  entirely 
safe.  With  increasing  knowledge  of  the  interior, 
there  is  much  less  danger  there  than  formerly.   The 


84     Wtb  Dr*  arenfell  in  ftafcraOor 

best  plan  for  hunting  or  exploring  seems  to  be  that 
pursued  with  great  success  by  the  Yale  party,  who 
brought  with  them  trained  Canadian  guides  and 
Micmac  Indians.  These  men  make  much  better 
servants  than  the  Labrador  liveyeres  because  they 
are  more  accustomed  to  that  part  of  the  work.  For 
aid  in  traveling  and  as  pilots,  the  party  of  course 
found  Labrador  liveyeres  or  half-breed  Indians  ab- 
solutely necessary,  because  of  their  local  knowledge. 
A  small  party  or  one  which  does  not  care  strongly 
for  luxuries  and  comfort  can  conveniently  use  them 
alone.  With  very  few  exceptions  the  Newfound- 
landers know  absolutely  nothing  about  the  interior 
of  Labrador;  but  the  coast  they  know  well. 

For  real  excitement  a  party  planned  to  stay  for 
the  winter  in  northern  Labrador  has  great  possibili- 
ties. Early  arrangements  would  have  to  be  made 
to  secure  the  services  of  one  or  more  experienced 
natives  and  their  dog-teams.  Trips  such  as  that  of 
Dr.  Grieve  from  Battle  Harbor  to  Nain,  and  those 
taken  by  the  Hudson  Bay  and  Revillon  factors, 
over  the  coast  range  of  hills  and  the  long  stretches 
of  sea  ice,  provide  thrills  of  adventure  decidedly 
worth  while. 


DR.  GRENFELL  IN  SEALSKINS 


Facing  page  85 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE  LABRADOR   MEDICAL   MISSION 

Dr.  Grenfell  states  in  one  of  his  books  that  "the 
raison  d'etre  of  the  Mission  *  is  to  commend  to  men 
who  daily  face  the  perils  and  privations  of  the  sea 
the  Gospel  of  Christ,  as  the  practical  rule  of  life.5' 
This  statement  needs  explanation.  Although  as  it 
shows,  Dr.  Grenfell's  motive  is  religious  and  deeply 
so,  his  Mission  would  never  be  recognized  as  a  "Gos- 
pel Mission."  He  does  not  seek,  as  the  conven- 
tional missionaries  do,  to  "save"  men  by  supplant- 
ing their  own  religion,  by  whose  tenets  they  actually 
live,  with  another  which  for  the  majority  of  its  ad- 
herents is  chiefly  a  matter  of  form.  Dr.  Grenfell 
says  further  "from  the  beginning  of  this  work,  no 
man  has  ever  been  engaged  in  the  capacity  of  priest 
or  clergyman."  So,  although  the  spirit  of  the  Mis- 
sion is  religious,  its  actual  work  is  very  material, 
with  the  medical  side  as  the  basis. 

In  1892  Dr.  Grenfell,  who  had  made  an  ex- 
cellent record  in  establishing  medical  work  in  the 

*  Recently   reorganized   under  the  name   of  The   Interna- 
tional Medical  Mission. 

85 


86     WLitb  Dr*  <&imttll  in  ILa&raOoc 

Gospel  ships  with  the  fishing  fleet  in  the  North  Sea, 
and  had  shown  his  ability  as  a  fighter  by  putting  out 
of  business  the  rum-ships  that  traveled  with  the 
fleet,  was  sent  to  Labrador  by  his  Society,  the  Royal 
National  Mission  to  Deep  Sea  Fishermen.  He 
came  over  in  charge  (being  a  qualified  Master 
Mariner)  of  their  sailing  vessel,  the  Albert.  He 
cruised  along  the  coast,  treating  900  patients,  and 
found  conditions  which  the  present  visitor  is  quite 
unable  to  conceive.  Not  a  hospital  on  the  whole 
coast  and  not  a  doctor  except  one  who  came  a  few 
times  each  summer  on  the  mail  steamer,  and  whose 
efficiency  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  his  career 
was  ended  by  his  falling  down  the  companionway 
when  drunk.  Starvation  of  whole  families  was 
fairly  common.  Poverty  and  disease  were  un- 
checked. An  insidious  debt  system  of  slavery  to 
the  traders  prevailed,  possible  because  of  almost 
universal  ignorance  and  illiteracy.  Dr.  Grenfell 
realized  that  here  was  a  field  of  endeavor  which 
offered  to  occupy  fully  the  lifetime  of  a  strong  man. 
It  demanded  one  of  unusual  energy  and  courage 
as  well. 

I  will  not  detail  the  history  of  the  Mission.  It 
is  chiefly  of  course,  the  history  of  Dr.  Grenfell's 
twenty-three  years  of  remarkably  successful  work, 
and  is  much  too  modestly  and  briefly  outlined  in 
his  book  "Labrador."  In  1893  and  l894  Battle 
Harbor  and  Indian  Harbor  hospitals  were  opened, 


Cfje  La&raOor  S^eOicai  fission    87 

and  each  summer  Dr.  Grenfell  cruised  north,  first 
in  a  little  launch  with  three  men.  His  skill  and 
daring  as  a  sailor,  and  his  endurance  in  standing 
watches  after  long  sieges  with  patients  in  the  little 
harbors,  earned  the  amazement  and  admiration  of 
the  whole  coast.  Several  vessels  were  worn  out 
in  this  service,  disabled  or  carried  away  in  the  ice, 
until  the  little  steamer  Strathcona  was  donated, 
which  is  now  in  active  use. 

Additional  hospitals  were  built,  the  staff  was  in- 
creased and  the  work  grew.  Dr.  Grenfell  saw  that 
it  was  futile  to  cure  diseases  like  scurvy,  consump- 
tion and  anemia  caused  chiefly  by  ignorance  and 
poverty,  and  then  send  the  patients  back  to  suffer  a 
relapse  under  the  same  conditions.  So  he  began 
in  1896  at  Red  Bay  the  establishment  of  coopera- 
tive stores  to  help  free  the  people  from  the  traders 
and  to  lower  prices  and  introduce  cash  trading. 
At  present  there  are  eight  of  these  stores  run  and 
owned  by  and  for  fishermen.  They  have  made  it 
possible  for  men  in  practically  any  part  of  the  coast 
to  demand  and  get  from  the  traders  cash  for  their 
fish  and  furs,  and  they  have  greatly  reduced  directly 
and  by  competition  the  price  of  supplies,  flour,  mo- 
lasses, tea,  etc. 

Several  thousand  patients  are  now  treated  each 
year  at  the  hospitals  and  on  the  Strathcona.  Each 
doctor  also  has  a  launch  in  which,  when  he  can 
get  away,  he  travels  the  neighboring  coast  during 


88     mitb  2X  ©renfell  in  La&raDor 

open  water,  and  a  dog-team,  with  which  to  reach 
as  many  little  settlements  as  possible  in  winter. 

Dr.  Grenfell's  position  on  the  coast  is  one  of  great 
authority.  The  prestige  and  honors  which  have 
come  to  him  have  been  absolutely  unsought  and 
are  simply  a  recognition  of  the  work  which  he  has 
calmly  done.  His  plans  have  been  gigantic,  though 
each  unit  has  been  begun  in  a  modest  way.  Sev- 
eral of  the  projects  have  failed  in  part  or  tem- 
porarily, and  Dr.  Grenfell,  like  all  born  fighters, 
has  unhesitatingly  made  enemies ;  but  the  balance  to 
his  credit,  of  success  and  friends,  is  very  large. 

The  southernmost  station,  except  St.  Johns,  is 
Pilley's  Island,  on  the  east  coast  of  Newfoundland. 
For  some  time  the  people  of  this  district  urged  Dr. 
Grenfell  to  open  a  hospital  here  to  care  for  several 
hundred  miles  of  coast  that  were  without  medical 
aid.  Although  for  the  most  part  poor  fishermen 
they  agreed  to  provide  for  the  maintenance  if  Dr. 
Grenfell  would  supply  a  doctor.  As  the  funds  of 
the  Mission  were  already  heavily  burdened  it  seemed 
wisest  not  to  undertake  any  fresh  responsibilities, 
but  a  separate  fund  was  raised  in  Boston  for  the 
equipment,  and  Dr.  Webster  and  another  doctor  and 
nurse  opened  a  hospital.  By  means  of  strict  econ- 
omy, contributions  and  the  collection  of  fees  from 
those  able  to  pay,  this  hospital  has  become  largely 
self-supporting,  and  is  now  doing  splendid  work. 

On  the  northeast  coast  of  Newfoundland,  for- 


o 
o 

I— I 

o 
w 

H 

w 

I/) 

o 

Q 

D 

PQ 


Cfje  LafiraDot  S^eDicai  fission    89 

merly  called  "Starvation  Coast,"  because  of  the  pov- 
erty and  dire  calamity  which  at  one  time  prevailed, 
but  now  called  the  "French  Shore,"  because  of  its 
late  occupation  by  the  French,  is  the  Mission  Sta- 
tion at  St.  Anthony,  the  headquarters  of  the  Mis- 
sion. Before  Dr.  Grenfell  came  to  this  harbor  it 
was  a  struggling  little  aggregation  of  ten  or  fifteen 
families.  Round  the  station  there  has  now  grown 
up  a  prosperous  population  of  several  hundred. 
Cod-fishing  is  the  principal  industry,  with  seal- 
catching  in  winter. 

The  Mission  settlement  is  quite  extensive.  The 
hospital  has  been  recently  enlarged  to  accommo- 
date about  thirty  patients  and  in  equipment  and 
efficiency  rivals  the  best  of  civilized  establishments. 
An  enlarged  orphanage  provides  a  home  for  twenty- 
five  children,  in  charge  of  Miss  Storr  and  an  assist- 
ant. 

Then  there  is  the  industrial  house.  Its  ground 
floor  contains  a  carpenter  and  machine  shop  where 
all  sorts  of  construction  and  repairing  are  done.  A 
small  pottery-kiln  adjoins,  and  a  machine  shop,  and 
beyond  a  power  saw  is  installed  to  cut  up  the  enor- 
mous wood  supply  needed  for  the  winter.  Above  is 
a  loom-room  where  spinning,  weaving  and  kindred 
arts  are  taught.  They  have  to  be  carried  on  chiefly 
in  the  winter  because  in  summer  all  the  girls  are 
needed  to  help  in  the  curing  of  fish  or  in  cooking  for 
the  skipper  and  his  crew. 


90     mitb  Dr*  <&tmtzll  in  LafitaDot 

The  industrial  house  is  constantly  busy  and  in 
its  shops  are  frequently  seen  the  venerable  Mr. 
Ashe,  his  son,  Ted  McNeil,  and  the  alert  Wilson 
Jacque.  The  last  three  men  have  had  technical 
training  at  Pratt  Institute,  New  York,  where  they 
made  excellent  records  in  spite  of  very  slight  ele- 
mentary schooling.  They  now  stand  ready  to  help 
Dr.  Grenfell  on  the  launches,  in  building  and  on 
the  winter  travels.  They  are  all  Labrador  liveyeres 
and  are  pretty  good  representatives  of  the  physical 
and  mental  superiority  of  these  people. 

Marvelous  evidences  of  civilization  have  been 
made  by  sheer  force  to  spring  up  in  this  northern 
wilderness.  Where  formerly  two  boys  spent  their 
days  hauling  water  in  summer  and  snow  was  melted 
on  the  kitchen  stove  in  winter,  there  now  is  a  reser- 
voir on  the  hill  behind  the  Mission  buildings,  which 
connects  with  a  complete  water-supply  and  plumb- 
ing system.  The  source  is  a  deep  spring  which  does 
not  freeze. 

A  cellar  has  been  dug  under  the  hospital  and 
a  furnace  installed.  It  is  hard  to  realize  what  this 
means  on  the  coast.  The  ground  in  most  places  is 
but  a  thin  layer  over  bed-rock.  In  digging  for 
foundations  at  Battle  Harbor,  for  instance,  solid 
rock  was  sometimes  encountered  two  feet  down. 
Further,  the  ground  never  thaws  more  than  five  to 
seven  feet  beneath  the  surface.  Below  that  depth 
the  soil  is  frozen  solid  in  the  middle  of  summer. 


Cfie  La&raOor  Q^eOical  fl&fggfott    91 

In  spite  of  endless  difficulties,  however,  the  task  has 
been  accomplished  by  Mr.  Halsey,  the  "saint  in 
overalls,"  and  others,  with  squads  of  American  col- 
lege men  as  laborers. 

The  advantages  of  furnace  heating  can  only  be 
appreciated  by  those  who  have  lived  on  the  coast  in 
winter.  Practically  all  houses  are  heated  by  small 
wood-stoves,  the  kitchen  stove  and  perhaps  one 
other  downstairs  and  their  stove  pipes  for  the  rooms 
on  the  second  floor.  In  my  own  experience  the  wood 
was  always  very  green  and  coated  with  an  inch  of 
solid  ice,  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  stand  a  barri- 
cade of  pieces  around  and  upon  the  stove  to  melt. 
Before  they  were  dry  they  had  to  be  put  in,  some- 
times even  soaking  wet.  We  managed,  however, 
to  maintain  an  average  temperature  of  54  degrees, 
to  which  we  became  sufficiently  accustomed  to  be 
perfectly  comfortable. 

At  night  all  the  fires  went  out,  and  as  we  insisted 
on  fresh  air  the  snow  not  infrequently  blew  in  upon 
our  beds.  Those  who  happened  to  be  on  the  lee 
side  of  the  house  on  such  occasions  got  up  and 
shoveled  out  the  others.  We  once  found  Dr.  Gren- 
fell  reposing  calmly  beneath  a  foot  of  snow,  while 
snow  clung  to  the  walls  like  a  drapery,  and  sub- 
merged his  bureau  in  a  huge  drift. 

The  installation  of  running  water  at  the  hospital 
makes  possible  a  real  bath-tub,  another  formerly  un- 
heard-of thing  on  the  coast.    Formerly  the  members 


92     Wlitt)  Dr*  <£>rettfell  in  La&raDot 

of  the  staff  drew  lots  for  the  use  of  a  tin  object 
resembling  a  cross  between  a  wash-tub  and  a  rock- 
ing-chair. With  all  their  advantages  I  personally 
resent  the  other  encroachments  of  civilization  on  the 
coast,  but  it  is  only  at  St.  Anthony  that  they  are 
much  manifest;  the  remaining  stations  are  primitive 
in  comparison. 

As  a  final  wonder  an  electric  lighting  plant  has 
been  put  in,  which  serves  the  Mission  buildings  and 
the  paths  and  dock.  It  is  run  by  a  kerosene  motor, 
fuel  for  which  is  much  cheaper  and  easier  to  ob- 
tain than  gasoline.  It  makes  possible  the  most 
modern  electric  treatment  and  X-ray  work.  The 
reputation  of  this  hospital  and  the  wonderful  surgi- 
cal work  of  Dr.  Grenfell  and  his  right-hand  man, 
Dr.  John  Mason  Little,  bring  patients  even  from  the 
south  and  St.  Johns. 

Among  the  further  buildings  is  the  Guest  House, 
which  houses  chiefly  the  volunteer  workers.  It  is 
remarkable  in  the  architecture  of  the  coast  for  its 
glass-enclosed  porch,  within  which  a  pleasant  heat 
is  afforded  by  the  sun  even  in  the  extreme  cold  of 
March.  The  success  of  this  experiment,  in  spite  of 
the  blowing  in  of  one  or  two  windows  during  bliz- 
zards (I  remember  freezing  my  hand  slightly  when 
Dr.  Grenfell  and  I  tried  to  put  one  back  to  keep 
out  the  snow  during  a  three-day  storm),  has  led 
to  the  adoption  of  the  plan  in  the  addition  to  the 
hospital. 


Cfte  La&raOor  speOtcal  Opt'ssion    93 

Across  the  harbor  and  out  toward  its  mouth  are 
the  wharf,  store  houses,  and  little  building  of  the 
St.  Anthony  Cooperative  Store.  This,  one  of  the 
newest  links  in  the  chain,  experienced  hard  times 
because  it  undertook  to  advance  supplies,  in  deserv- 
ing cases,  on  credit.  It  has  learned  the  old  lesson 
for  itself  and  is  now  well  on  its  feet  and  doing  a 
large  business. 

Visitors  to  St.  Anthony  who  are  eager  to  see  the 
little  places  can  go  by  land  or  small  boat  to  Braha. 
The  distance  is  about  four  miles  of  the  worst  walk- 
ing, with  a  very  indistinct  path  leading  through 
"tuckermoor"  (a  low  thick  growth  of  stunted  ever- 
green trees),  around  little  lakes  and  over  mossy 
bogs.  Here  is  a  cooperative  store  which  flourishes 
like  most  of  the  series  under  a  fisherman  manager. 

The  cooperative  stores  are  run  separately  from 
the  International  Medical  Mission.  When  one  is  es- 
tablished, the  natives  of  the  community  put  in  as 
much  money  as  possible  and  Dr.  Grenfell  person- 
ally makes  up  the  remaining  necessary  capital. 
When  the  store  is  on  its  feet  and  is  paying,  he  with- 
draws his  capital,  refusing  to  accept  any  part  of 
the  interest  and  dividends  earned  upon  it,  turning 
this  money  back  into  the  store.  Each  store  is  thus 
locally  owned  and  independent  of  Dr.  Grenfell 
financially,  and  has  been  no  risk  to  the  funds  of  the 
Mission. 

A  little  further  north  from  St.  Anthony  is  Cape 


94     Wiitb  Dr*  <&imitll  in  JtafiraOor 

Bauld,  which  marks  the  northern  limit  of  New- 
foundland, and  borders  on  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle. 
Across  this  strait  is  the  Mission  Station  of  Battle 
Harbor,  situated  on  a  little  island  about  four  miles 
from  the  mainland.  The  harbor  itself  is  a  poor  one, 
formed  by  the  surrounding  islands  and  part  of  the 
mainland.  That  which  seems  to  be  the  harbor  is 
a  narrow  "tickle"  or  passage  between  Battle  Island 
and  Great  Caribou  Island.  The  settlement  of  Bat- 
tle Harbor  is  small,  on  little  Battle  Island  which 
is  a  mile  long.  About  ten  families  live  here  per- 
manently, but  during  the  summer  the  population 
is  considerably  increased  by  Newfoundland  fisher- 
men and  visitors.  The  Mission  buildings  are 
grouped  together  toward  the  middle  of  the  island 
near  the  shore  and  consist  of  a  hospital  and  a  few 
storehouses.  The  hospital  has  been  twice  enlarged, 
owing  to  the  great  demand  for  increased  accommo- 
dation for  patients. 

There  is  also  near  by  the  house  occupied  by  the 
resident  physician  in  charge,  Dr.  John  Grieve. 
Across  the  harbor  are  a  wharf  and  storehouse  for 
coal  and  supplies,  built  against  the  high  cliff  of  Cari- 
bou Island.  The  firm  of  Baine  Johnson  has  a  crew 
of  about  sixty  men  fishing  from  this  harbor,  and 
near  the  shore  is  the  wide  extent  of  one  of  the 
largest  fish  flakes  on  the  coast.  The  flake  is  a  plat- 
form of  poles  on  which  the  fish  are  spread  to  dry. 

Battle  Harbor,  lying  at  the  corner  where  the  At- 


Cfte  LatmtOor  e©eaical  9$iMUm    95 

lantic  Ocean  meets  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle,  is  just 
opposite  the  mouth  of  Lewis  Inlet,  a  long  bay  which 
extends  for  thirty  miles  back  into  the  interior  and 
forms  the  outlet  of  a  river  which  goes  many  miles 
further  back.  The  important  position  of  this  place 
makes  it  seem  very  possible  that  at  some  future  time 
it  may  become  a  large  town.  This  might  easily 
happen  if  another  industry  than  fishing  were  to 
be  established.  At  present  there  is  in  the  winter 
only  the  very  minor  occupation  of  furring,  which 
can  support  only  a  limited  number  of  people. 
Along  the  shores  of  the  inlet,  after  one  gets  twenty 
miles  back  from  the  coast,  the  country  is  heavily 
wooded  and  could  easily  support  a  lumber  mill  and 
possibly  a  shipyard.  The  establishment  of  these 
or  similar  industries  would  draw  to  Battle  Harbor 
a  fairly  large  population,  which  in  turn  would  make 
possible  the  organization  of  schools  and  the  other 
adjuncts  of  an  enlightened  village.  This  dream  is 
perhaps  of  the  very  far  future,  but  it  is  not  an  im- 
practical idea.  One  of  the  serious  drawbacks  to 
improvement  in  the  life  of  the  people  is  the  fact 
that  they  are  so  scattered  and  isolated.  On  the 
other  hand,  however,  for  the  encouragement  of 
self-sufficing  qualities  the  hunting  life  is  undoubt- 
edly much  to  be  preferred. 

About  eight  miles  west  of  Battle  Harbor  is  Fox 
Harbor,  on  the  mainland,  a  little  cove  harboring 
three  or  four  families,  some  of  which  have  con- 


96     With  Dr*  arenfeil  in  Labrador 

siderable  Eskimo  blood.  This  is  in  fact  the  most 
southern  trace  of  a  race  which  formerly  extended 
as  far  south  as  Maine.  It  forms  the  outermost 
group  of  those  who  live  in  winter  by  trapping.  The 
trappers  here,  as  in  most  parts  of  the  coast,  hold 
title  to  the  land  by  right  of  succession  and  use.  One 
man  regards  himself  as  owner  of,  and  covers  every 
few  days,  an  extent  of  sixty  miles. 

The  work  of  the  Medical  Mission  here  is  like 
that  in  other  parts  of  the  coast.  The  doctor  in 
charge  is  assisted  usually  by  a  volunteer  physician 
and  one  or  two  advanced  medical  students,  as  well 
as  one  or  two  nurses.  The  number  of  cases  treated 
during  the  summer  is  exceedingly  large.  Most 
of  these  come  from  various  parts  of  the  coast  by 
the  mail  steamers,  and  it  is  not  unusual  for  ten 
serious  operations  to  be  performed  during  one  day. 
This,  of  course,  entails  a  very  severe  strain  on  the 
small  staff  and  taxes  its  resources  to  the  utmost. 
Between  times  the  doctor  travels  north  and  west  for 
fifty  miles  each  way  in  a  thirty-five  foot  launch,  with 
sail  and  a  kerosene  engine.  The  crew  of  the  launch 
is  usually  composed  of  one  or  two  natives  and  three 
or  four  American  college  students  who  have  volun- 
teered their  services  for  the  summer. 

The  hospital  contains  a  large  Assembly  Room, 
in  which  occasional  entertainments  are  given  and 
religious  services  held  by  the  doctor  in  charge  on 


Cfje  LafcraDot  sgeoicai  emission     97 

Sunday  afternoons.  There  is  a  little  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  village  as  well. 

The  winter  work  is  even  more  interesting  than 
the  summer.  Dr.  Grieve  is  the  Mission's  chief 
traveler.  His  longest  trip  is  more  than  a  thousand 
miles  and  takes  him  north  along  the  Labrador  coast 
to  Nain  or  Okkak.  He  also  travels  west,  along  the 
shore  ice  and  across  the  frozen  bays  for  a  considera- 
ble distance.  In  order  to  get  in  both  trips  he  has 
to  make  the  western  trip  extremely  early  and  con- 
stantly runs  the  danger  of  encountering  soft  or 
broken  up  ice.  In  spite  of  having  many  times 
broken  through  he  has  always  managed  to  get  out 
of  the  difficulty.  The  western  trip,  too,  serves  to 
season  him  and  his  dogs  for  the  harder  trip  to  the 
north.  He  travels  with  two  teams  and  one  or  two 
drivers.  His  dogs  are  famous  on  the  coast  as  one 
of  the  finest,  most  carefully  bred  packs.  They  re- 
ceive the  best  of  care  and  are  fed  from  depots  of 
whale  or  seal  meat  and  fish  which  are  deposited 
during  the  summer  by  Dr.  Grenfell  on  his  way  along 
the  coast  in  the  Strathcona. 

During  five  or  six  years  Dr.  Grieve  has  con- 
stantly improved  his  methods  of  travel,  his  sleds, 
and  his  harnessing  of  the  dogs  and  has  learned  more 
and  more  in  regard  to  the  proper  equipment  of 
clothing,  so  that  his  traveling  is  now  done  with 
the  greatest  possible  efficiency.  Even  so,  however, 
it  requires  a  very  great  deal  of  skill  and  endurance 


98     Wlitb  Dr*  <£>rettfell  in  Ha&taDor 

and  usually  leaves  him  thoroughly  fatigued  at  the 
end  of  the  season.  There  is  usually  no  one  in  charge 
of  the  hospital  during  his  absence,  except  the  nurse 
and  Mrs.  Grieve,  who  is  also  a  capable  nurse. 

On  the  whole,  Battle  Harbor  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  spots  of  the  coast.  The  chief  difficulty 
is  that  visitors  get  usually  a  very  superficial  glance 
at  the  most  civilized  portions  of  the  little  commu- 
nity and  fail  to  see  the  real  life  of  the  people  which 
is  just  around  the  corner.  For  this  reason  those 
who  have  a  day  or  two  at  Battle  Harbor  between 
mail  steamers  will  find  it  well  worth  their  while  to 
visit  some  of  the  little  nearby  communities.  One 
of  these  is  Trap  Cove,  about  two  miles  from  Battle 
on  Caribou  Island  and  can  be  reached  by  crossing 
over  in  a  boat  and  going  by  foot  over  the  hill  at  the 
northern  end  of  the  island;  one  then  descends  a 
steep  path  into  a  little  settlement  full  of  dogs  and 
pups. 

It  is  at  Battle  Harbor  that  one  is  usually  first 
deeply  impressed  by  the  Eskimo  dogs.  One  is  apt 
to  be  distinctly  cautious  about  venturing  near  them. 
As  soon  as  possible  one  ought  to  master  the  very 
simple  rule  of  dealing  with  them,  which  is  to  treat 
them  with  utter  indifference  and  lack  of  respect.  It 
may  sound  a  little  harsh  to  a  lover  of  dogs  but  it 
seems  to  be  the  only  way.  One  never  gets  out  of  an 
Eskimo  dog's  way.  If  he  is  lying  in  the  path  one 
yells  at  him,  gives  him  a  kick,  or  pretends  to  pick  up 


Cfje  La&raDor  cpeOtcal  fission    99 

a  stone  as  though  to  throw  it.  The  dogs  need  not 
be  in  the  least  feared,  because  except  in  very  unusual 
instances  they  are  thoroughly  afraid  of  men.  Dur- 
ing the  summer,  too,  they  are  constantly  well-fed, 
because  of  the  large  quantity  of  fish  cuttings  which 
they  pick  up  around  the  splitting  stages.  They  also 
fish  for  themselves  in  shallow  water ;  and  their  own- 
ers find  it  unnecessary  to  feed  them  at  all  during  this 
season. 

About  the  next  call  of  the  mail  steamer  is  made 
at  Square  Islands.  There  is  no  Medical  Mission 
station,  but  a  teacher  and  a  doctor  are  sometimes 
located  there.  On  the  way  along  the  coast  one 
passes  an  interesting  natural  phenomenon  called 
"Hole-in-the-wall."  It  is  a  large  opening  through 
a  thin  wall  of  rock  which  runs  parallel  to  the  shore 
a  short  distance  off  it.  With  a  heavy  sea  the  water 
rushes  in  behind  and  out  through  the  hole,  which 
is  well  above  the  ordinary  water-level,  as  though 
it  were  a  tunneling  river. 

About  three  families  at  Square  Islands  are  live- 
yeres,  the  rest  are  Newfoundlanders,  who  come  in 
other  people's  boats  and  settle  to  fish  for  the  sum- 
mer. The  place  was  the  first  one  which  I  saw  that 
had  no  dogs.  Owing  to  this  lack  a  degree  of  civ- 
ilization prevails  which  is  astounding  to  the  Labra- 
dor eye.  Chickens  roam  about,  together  with  six 
or  eight  goats.  There  are  several  small  gardens, 
fenced  in  on  account  of  the  goats. 


ioo  coiti)  Dr*  ©renfell  in  LafiraDor 

One  of  these  was  shown  to  me  with  pride  by  a 
nice  old  liveyere  woman,  who  had  carefully  tended 
it  for  years.  It  was  about  five  feet  square,  with 
little  paths  the  width  of  one's  foot  (quite  a  width 
when  one  wears  sea-boots),  and  was  flourishing  for 
Labrador,  for  it  had  a  single  poppy  about  a  foot 
high,  and  also  contained  several  bushy  strawberry 
plants  which  had  put  forth  some  beautiful  foliage 
but  had  forgotten  all  about  the  berries.  Two  tiny 
leaves  gave  promise  of  a  rose-bush  some  time ;  while 
the  crowning  glory  was  an  apple  tree,  five  years 
old,  and  five  inches  high. 

There  is  a  little  store,  kept  by  the  most  prominent 
liveyere,  in  which  he  sells  a  few  things  like  knives 
and  hard-tack,  and  buys  from  the  people  bake-ap- 
pies  that  they  pick  and  furs  that  they  trap,  to  sell 
them  again  to  the  schooner  that  brings  his  goods 
and  the  Newfoundlanders  from  the  south.  He  of- 
fered to  sell  me  a  lynx  skin,  but  I  declined  with 
thanks,  because  he  admitted  that  the  animal  had 
not  been  killed  in  winter,  and  the  fur  was  apt  to 
part  from  the  skin  and  cleave  to  the  clothing. 

We  went  into  one  house,  during  the  doctor's 
rounds,  where  the  family  was  just  finishing  a  din- 
ner of  hard-tack  soaked  in  water  and  fried  in  fat, 
and  washed  down  with  tea  sweetened  with  molasses. 

Square  Islands  is  a  fairly  representative  summer 
Labrador  community,  but  it  shows  much  New- 
foundland influence  because  of  the  majority  of  its 


Cfte  Latiraoot  stoical  Q&ission  101 

population.  On  the  other  hand  it  usually  has 
few  Newfoundland  fishing  schooners  lying  in  the 
harbor. 

At  several  similar  places  Dr.  Grenfell  has  work- 
ers stationed  when  possible.  For  instance,  at  Spot- 
ted Islands,  further  north,  where  the  people  are 
largely  liveyeres,  he  has  had  for  two  years  a  young 
doctor  who,  living  in  one  of  the  houses,  has  treated 
patients,  taught  school,  and  been  of  help  to  the  peo- 
ple generally. 

At  one  place  a  doctor  and  nurse  spent  the  winter 
absolutely  away  from  any  hospital  or  other  evidence 
of  civilization.  They  brought  most  unaccustomed 
help  to  the  little  community,  and  incidentally  had 
an  interesting  winter,  with  long,  exciting,  if  some- 
times arduous,  trips  by  dog-team. 

The  next  station  of  the  Labrador  Medical  Mis- 
sion is  Indian  Harbor,  at  the  mouth  of  Hamilton 
Inlet.  It  consists  of  a  small  hospital  and  a  large 
general  hall,  not  infrequently  pressed  into  tempo- 
rary ward  or  dormitory  service.  The  permanent 
population  of  this  region  is  small,  so  the  hospital 
is  usually  abandoned  for  the  winter.  It  serves  the 
fishermen  injured  or  taken  sick  on  schooners,  and 
also  liveyeres  brought  to  it  from  distant  points  by 
boat,  or  sent  thither  by  Dr.  Grenfell  when  longer 
treatment  is  needed  than  his  hurried  visits  in  the 
Strathcona  will  allow. 

Much  farther  north,  at  Paul's  Island,  is  a  co- 


io2   mith  £>u  <&tzntzll  in  JLafiraDot 

operative  store,  established  several  years  ago,  and 
flourishing  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  liveyeres 
there ;  true  Labrador  people.  Far  to  the  south,  west 
of  Battle  Harbor,  is  the  fourth  regular  hospital  sta- 
tion, at  an  isolated  place  called  Harrington.  It  is 
on  the  southern  coast,  in  Canadian  Labrador.  In 
spite  of  the  latitude  the  conditions  here  are  as  hard 
as  any.  The  population  is  different  because  of  a 
large  French  Canadian  element,  but  it  is  supported 
by  fishing  and  sealing  in  much  the  same  way  as  the 
rest  of  the  coast. 

For  the  last  few  years  seals  have  been  so  scarce 
that  the  people  have  suffered  real  hardship  from 
lack  of  proper  moccasins,  no  other  boots  being  at  all 
suited  to  the  conditions.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hare  and  a 
nurse,  with  an  occasional  medical  student  and  assist- 
ant nurse,  do  most  self-sacrificing  work.  Single- 
handed  often  the  surgeon  runs  the  hospital,  and 
travels  in  a  small  launch  in  summer,  and  with  dogs 
in  winter.  The  sea-traveling  is  hard,  for  the  coast 
is  dangerous  and  foggy ;  and  the  dog-travel  in  spite 
of  a  splendid  team,  affords  great  risks  near  the  first 
and  last  of  winter  because  of  the  many  deep  bays 
which  have  to  be  crossed,  no  matter  how  rough  and 
unsafe  the  ice. 

The  latest  and  crowning  achievement  of  Dr.  Gren- 
fell  is  in  a  much  different  line.  St.  Johns,  New- 
foundland, is  the  market  and  commercial  center  of 
the  coast,  to  which  the  fishermen  and  sealers  have  to 


Cfte  La&raOor  flieOtcai  ^t0sfon   103 

resort  in  great  numbers  to  settle  up  for  their  catch. 
It  is  a  very  small  city  and  contained  no  adequate 
place  to  which  the  men  could  go  when  ashore  except 
saloons,  of  which  it  has  over  fifty.  Dr.  Grenfell 
planned  and  raised  the  money  for  the  building  of  the 
King  George  the  Fifth  Seamen's  Institute,  which  is 
recognized  as  a  model  institution  and  has  been  vis- 
ited by  a  commission  from  England  who  wish  to 
duplicate  it  in  their  ports. 

The  seafaring  men  have  here  baths,  comfortable 
bedrooms  and  lounging  rooms,  laundries  where 
they  can  do  their  own  washing,  a  huge  hall  for  mo- 
tion pictures  and  other  entertainments,  billiards, 
pool,  soda,  bowling,  a  big  swimming  pool,  a  good 
restaurant,  an  officers'  room — all  at  moderate 
charges — and  a  complete  separate  floor  with  a 
matron  for  the  girls  employed  on  vessels,  and  the 
main  offices  of  the  International  Medical  Mission. 

Every  cent  of  building  cost  has  been  paid  off,  and, 
although  the  operation  of  the  Institute  cost  during 
the  first  year  $16,000,  it  maintains  itself,  paying  all 
this  out  of  current  income.  Best  of  all  is  the  fine 
spirit  of  management  and  patrons  alike. 

These  are  some  of  the  specific  points  ministered 
to  by  Dr.  Grenfell;  but  a  feature  of  his  work  is  its 
informality  and  lack  of  red-tape,  so  that  even  as  this 
is  written  plans  are  probably  being  laid  to  reach 
and  help  new  ports.  To  him  and  the  type  of  en- 
ergetic individuals  who  work  with  him,  every  cove 


104  Wiith  Dr*  C5renfeII  in  itatiraOot 

on  the  coast  is  full  of  interest;  but  the  combined 
resources  admit  the  establishment  of  stations  in  only 
a  few  places.  Indeed,  Dr.  Grenfell  allows  no 
amount  of  zeal  to  carry  him  beyond  the  practical 
limit;  and  he  prefers  to  limit  his  efforts  somewhat  in 
area  in  order  to  work  more  efficiently. 

The  wider  field  of  Dr.  Grenfell's  work  is  the 
100,000  square  miles  or  more  of  Labrador.  His 
name  and  he  himself  are  known  from  one  end  to 
the  other,  and  his  relation  with  his  people  is  unique 
in  any  community.  He  has  enemies,  but  cautious 
inquiry  will  generally  show  them  to  be  persons  or 
adherents  of  persons  who  have  had  the  bad  judg- 
ment to  sell  liquor,  cheat  the  poor,  or  otherwise 
so  act  as  to  feel  his  power  in  an  unpleasant  way. 
Public  opinion  is  against  them  and  with  Dr.  Gren- 
fell, less  because  of  what  he  has  done  for  the  peo- 
ple than  because  men  know  him  as  a  man. 


Facing   page    105 


CHAPTER    VII 

HOW  TO   REACH   LABRADOR 

It  is  possible  to  reach  Labrador  from  Boston  in 
a  week.  Leaving  Boston  by  the  Plant  Line  one 
may  sail  to  Halifax,  or  by  the  Dominion  Steamship 
Company  to  Yarmouth,  and  from  either  of  these 
places  go  by  rail  to  Sydney,  Cape  Breton  Island. 
Here  one  takes  the  steamer  of  the  Reid  Newfound- 
land Company  to  Port  aux  Basques,  Newfoundland, 
where  one  connects  with  the  Reid  Newfoundland 
Railway.  It  is  possible  to  cross  the  country  east- 
ward by  the  railroad  to  the  capital,  St.  Johns,  and 
the  Labrador-bound  traveler  has  the  choice  of  doing 
so  and  going  thence  to  Labrador  in  a  way  described 
later.  If  he  wishes  the  quickest  route,  he  takes  from 
Port  aux  Basques  another  branch  of  the  railroad 
northward  to  Bay  of  Islands,  Newfoundland. 
There  he  may  take  a  small  mail  steamer  of  the  Reid 
Newfoundland  Company,  which  calls  at  several 
more  ports  of  the  west  coast  of  Newfoundland  and 
then  crosses  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle  to  Forteau, 
Labrador ;  thence  it  skirts  the  south  Labrador  coast 
until  it  reaches  Battle  Harbor,  the  metropolis  of 

105 


106   With  Dr*  <&tzntzll  in  La&taDot 

Labrador  proper,  and  in  some  years  goes  south  on 
the  east  coast  of  Newfoundland  to  St.  Anthony. 
Two  other  boats  go  as  far  north  as  Battle,  one  of 
the  Reid  Newfoundland  Company,  which  makes 
about  six  trips  from  July  to  October,  and  twice  gets 
as  far  north  as  Nain.  So  much  depends  on  the  ice, 
however,  that  one  may  start  expecting  to  reach  Nain 
and  have  to  turn  back  some  ioo  miles  further  south. 
No  passenger  steamers  go  north  of  Nain;  but  the 
Moravian  missionaries  have  a  ship  which  comes 
from  England  once  a  year  or  so,  striking  the  coast 
usually  near  Rigolet,  and  then  goes  to  the  far  north 
Moravian  stations;  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
sends  up  from  St.  Johns  to  Hudson  Bay  each  year 
some  ships,  which  call  in  at  Battle.  These  boats 
north  of  Nain,  however,  are  very  irregular  and 
take  passengers  only  by  special  arrangement. 

The  third  mail  steamer  which  goes  as  far  north 
as  Battle  Harbor  is  run  by  Bowring  Brothers.  It 
starts  at  St.  Johns,  Newfoundland,  and  runs  up  the 
east  coast  of  Newfoundland  to  Battle  Harbor, 
Labrador,  and  back.  This  third  line  makes  it  pos- 
sible to  go  from  New  York  to  Labrador  with  one 
change.  Bowring  Brothers'  Red  Cross  Line  pro- 
vides first-class  accommodations  from  New  York 
to  St.  Johns,  where  one  may  connect  with  the  line 
for  Battle  Harbor,  or  the  Reid-Newfoundland  boat 
going  further  north  on  the  Labrador  coast.  For 
those  who  like  a  sea  voyage,  and  wish  to  go  from 


^oto  to  fteaci)  ftafcrauor        107 

New  York  with  the  greatest  comfort,  this  is  the  best 
route.  Or,  as  suggested  above,  one  may  reach  Port 
aux  Basques  and  then  cross  Newfoundland  by  rail- 
road to  St.  Johns  and  there  connect  with  either 
northern  boat. 

Any  person,  no  matter  what  his  tastes  may  be, 
can  get  real  pleasure  from  a  trip  to  Labrador.  At 
the  very  worst,  if  for  instance  the  weather  should 
prove  bad,  or  his  tastes  are  particularly  jaded,  he 
will  enjoy  Labrador  because  it  will  be  absolutely 
new  to  him.  Even  if  he  has  traveled  in  Newfound- 
land, he  will  have  seen  nothing  like  it. 

One  thing  only  is  necessary — he  must  take  the 
trip  in  the  right  spirit,  remembering  that  the  ordi- 
nary first-class  accommodations  to  which  American 
travelers  are  accustomed  are  to  be  had  only  as  far 
as  Port  aux  Basques  or  St.  Johns.  Further  north 
the  accommodation  is  decidedly  second-class. 

A  slight  exception  must  be  made  for  the  Reid 
Newfoundland  Railway  Company,  which  although 
narrow-gauge,  has  nevertheless  a  good  dining  serv- 
ice and  Pullmans. 

The  northern  boats  have  few  staterooms  and 
it  is  impossible  to  engage  securely  a  whole  one.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  these  lines  are  not  pri- 
marily for  tourists.  They  run  a  few  months  each 
year  only,  for  the  benefit  of  the  coast  inhabitants, 
bringing  them  mail  and  supplies.  During  the  height 
of  the  season  they  are  often  crowded  so  that  com- 


108   Wiitb  Dr*  ©renteii  in  La&raOot 

mon  humanity  overcomes  selfish  desires  and  each 
stateroom  holds  four  people. 

Not  long  ago  a  few  American  millionaires  trav- 
eling on  the  coast  made  arrangements  with  the 
owner  and  head  of  one  of  the  lines  to  have  a  state- 
room apiece.  The  boat  was  extremely  crowded  and 
the  result  was  that  all  the  other  tourists,  hunters 
and  fishermen  were  herded  together  in  the  so-called 
second-class,  which  is  equivalent  to  the  ordinary 
steerage,  while  the  few  rich  Americans  contentedly 
occupied  the  entire  first  cabin.  The  afifair  caused 
so  much  fury  on  the  coast  that  it  was  taken  to  the 
Newfoundland  Parliament,  and  the  owner,  who  is 
a  member,  found  himself  in  extremely  hot  water. 

Pioneer  necessity  on  the  Labrador  tends  to  do 
away  with  class  distinction  and  spread  a  feeling 
of  genuine  democracy  which  is  very  pleasing  to  an 
American,  however  accustomed  to  obeisance  he  may 
happen  to  be.  One  should  not  suppose,  however, 
that  this  feeling  in  the  Labrador  people  presents 
itself  in  impudence  or  that  over-readiness  to  demon- 
strate equality  to  all  comers  that  is  so  offensive. 
The  people  have  a  quiet  modesty  and  deference 
which  is  the  most  real  sort  of  courtesy. 

These  northern  boats  are  full  of  interest.  One 
of  them  often  employed  to  help  out  in  the  service 
but  not  regularly  used,  is  upwards  of  fifty  years 
old  and  as  strong  as  on  the  day  she  was  built.  She 
was   formerly  an  old  sailing  British  man-of-war. 


I^oto  to  Heaci)  LabraOor        109 

Several  hard  fights  in  African  waters  left  her  eter- 
nal oak  beams  absolutely  untouched,  and  with  oc- 
casional resheathing,  topping  and  inside  fitting  she 
has  done  many  years  of  helpful  service  on  the  coast. 

Others  of  the  northern  vessels  are  former  sail- 
ing ships  admirably  adapted  to  the  service  by  the 
thick  sheathing  with  which  they  combat  the  ice. 
One  or  two  of  them  are  still  used  each  spring  for 
the  chase  after  seals  among  the  ice  floes.  Only 
four  years  ago  the  old  Virginia  Lake,  which  had 
reached  Nain  twice  the  previous  summer,  was  at 
last  crushed  in  and  destroyed  in  March  by  the  in- 
calculable strength  of  the  spring  ice-pack.  In  these 
staunch  vessels  the  summer  passengers,  however, 
may  feel  absolutely  safe,  for  although  there  is  plenty 
of  ice  it  is  loosely  scattered,  and  during  a  great 
many  years  none  of  these  vessels  has  ever  suffered 
serious  accident. 

The  Labrador  coast  is  in  fact  by  no  means  as 
unsafe  for  navigation  as  it  is  sometimes  regarded. 
It  is  poorly  charted  indeed,  but  this  is  a  disadvan- 
tage only  to  strangers,  and  not  to  the  old  skippers 
of  these  vessels,  who  know  the  coast  like  a  book. 
Their  ability  to  travel  unerringly  in  the  fog  and 
dark  is  almost  uncanny.  There  is  also  a  good,  safe 
harbor  nearly  every  ten  miles,  to  use  in  case  of 
emergency.  The  northern  boats  run  along  "inside" 
a  sheltering  fringe  of  islands,  and  are  usually  south 


no  mith  Dr*  ©renfcll  in  La&raHor 

before  the  dreaded  "equinoctial  gales"  break  loose 
very  late  in  the  season. 

The  latter  are  indeed  severe.  From  forty  to 
sixty  fishing  vessels  are  apt  to  be  wrecked  every 
year.  During  these  times  Dr.  Grenfell's  staunch 
little  steamer  Strathcona  labors  without  thought 
of  danger.  Dr.  Grenfell  has  the  reputation  of  trav- 
eling in  weather  which  scares  the  most  hardened 
skippers.  He  usually  succeeds  in  pulling  half  a 
dozen  unfortunate  fore-and-afters  off  the  rocks 
upon  which  they  have  been  driven,  and  in  rescuing 
several  crews. 

Persons  wishing  to  stop  over  will  find  Battle 
Harbor,  Labrador,  and  St.  Anthony,  northern 
Newfoundland,  the  most  convenient  places.  St. 
Johns,  Newfoundland,  is  the  only  point  on  the  coast 
boasting  real  hotels,  and  these  are  decidedly  second- 
class.  Of  chief  interest  is  the  new  Fisherman's  In- 
stitute which  Dr.  Grenfell  has  established  there. 

At  St.  Anthony  the  International  Medical  Mission 
has  limited  accommodations,  the  best  of  any  of 
the  stations.  These  should,  however,  be  arranged 
for  in  advance  by  writing  or  telegraphing  the  Ma- 
tron of  the  Guest  House,  St.  Anthony,  Newfound- 
land. 

At  the  other  stations  the  Mission  is  always  glad 
to  extend  hospitality  when  it  can,  but,  during  the 
summer  especially,  the  absolute  need  on  behalf  of 
the    patients    thronging    to    the    hospitals    usually 


^oto  to  Beact)  LafcraOor        m 

makes  this  impossible.  Not  infrequently  the  very 
benches  in  the  small  waiting-room  have  to  be  made 
up  as  beds  for  sufferers. 

At  Battle  Harbor  Mr.  Croucher,  summer  factor 
for  the  Baine  Johnson  Company,  traders  and  fish 
merchants,  and  his  assistant,  Mr.  Lewis,  often  are 
kind  enough  to  take  into  their  houses  the  few  trav- 
elers that  they  can  accommodate. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

AN  AMERICAN  IN  LABRADOR 

An  ever  increasing  number  of  Americans,  Cana- 
dians and  English  are  giving  their  services  for  per- 
iods of  from  three  months  to  several  years  in  order 
to  help  Dr.  Grenfell  solve  the  social  and  medical 
problems  of  the  coast.  Most  valuable  is  the  work 
of  medical  and  surgical  specialists  and  of  nurses, 
next  comes  that  of  third-year  medical  students,  ac- 
countants, electricians  and  teachers.  Still  others 
without  technical  or  professional  training  do  sec- 
retarial and  administrative  work  and  heavy  manual 
labor. 

The  life  of  these  people  is  in  its  way  as  inter- 
esting as  that  of  the  liveyeres  whom  they  try  to 
serve.  To  depict  it  I  quote  a  few  passages  from 
my  diary  as  volunteer  aide  for  over  a  year  in  the 
Labrador  Medical  Mission,  serving  in  many  capaci- 
ties. 

August  13th — We  took  a  trip  in  the  kerosene 
launch  to  Fox  Harbor  after  supper,  and  lost  our 
bearings  toward  the  end  of  the  journey  on  account 
of  fog.     We  ran  along,  trying  to  find  the  harbor, 

112 


an  ametican  in  La&raBor       113 

until  we  heard  breakers  on  our  port  bow.  We 
dropped  both  anchors  just  in  time  to  head  her  off, 
and  turned  in  for  the  night.  There  were  four 
bunks  in  the  combined  cabin  and  engine-room,  and 
six  hands  aboard, — the  hospital  physician,  Dr. 
Grieve,  an  energetic  Scotchman,  two  of  the  Mis- 
sion's seamen  and  three  Americans.  We  held  watch 
in  turn,  two  on  deck  at  a  time,  which  made  the 
accommodations  sufficient.  We  sounded  frequently 
with  the  lead-line  to  make  sure  that  the  anchors 
were  not  dragging  and  letting  us  drift  toward  the 
rocks.  When  it  became  light  we  saw  the  reef  near 
us,  and  we  were  glad  that  we  had  not  gone  ashore 
in  the  dark  and  fog  to  find  the  harbor,  for  the  dory 
would  have  been  carried  in  and  dashed  to  pieces 
before  we  could  have  gotten  down  the  shore  be- 
yond the  reef.  We  could  see  the  harbor  compara- 
tively near,  so  we  steamed  in  and  blew  a  blast  on 
the  horn.  A  young  man  came  out  of  one  of  the 
huts  and  rowed  out  in  a  punt  to  carry  the  doctor 
and  me  ashore. 

We  climbed  up  the  rails  of  the  only  sort  of  wharf 
much  found  on  the  coast,  a  fish-stage,  and  went  to 
a  small  hut  covered  with  peat  sod.  A  middle-aged 
Eskimo  in  the  usual  fishing  costume,  knee-boots 
with  iron  heel-plates,  overalls,  jersey,  pipe  and  tam- 
o'-shanter,  met  us  at  the  door  and  took  us  into  the 
hut,  which  was  made  of  hand-hewn  boards  scrubbed 
clean.     Here  were  his  fat  wife,  one  well  boy  and 


in  ffltttb  Dr*  ©tenfell  in  3La&ta5or 

one  with  the  mumps.  All  could  speak  English,  and 
as  the  mother  had  followed  carefully  the  verbal 
instructions  which  the  doctor  had  given  her,  the 
child  was  pronounced  well  enough  to  put  down  his 
bed  and  walk. 

August  30th — We  were  opening  some  sacks  of 
clothing  in  the  morning  and  paying  off  some  men 
to  whom  work  had  been  given  to  help  them  out  of 
dire  need.  Their  tastes  were  surprising.  Some  of 
the  knitted  woolen  things  the  women  "take  down" 
and  reknit  to  suit  themselves,  as  wool  is  so  hard 
to  get.  A  stranger  strolled  in  and  happened  to 
see  a  green  fancy  vest  which  a  doubtless  well-mean- 
ing but  scantily  informed  friend  in  civilization  had 
sent.  He  saw  that  I  was  busy  so  he  went  away,  but 
later  he  came  back  and  stood  admiring  the  waist- 
coat for  all  he  was  worth. 

"I  wonder  now  what  would  be  de  price  o'  dat.  I 
s'pose  'tis  way  up  altogedder.  Now  dat  ves'  sort 
o'  strikes  my  fancy.  I  'low  'tis  slack  enough  in  d* 
wais'.  Yes,  yes,  I  suppose  I'd  be  willin'  to  give 
half  a  quintal  or  a  quintal  o'  fish  for  un."  I  ex- 
plained that  clothing  was  given  only  for  work.  His 
offering  a  quintal  of  cod-fish  for  a  thing  of  no  use 
to  him  shows  rather  picturesque  ignorance  of  value, 
for  a  quintal  is  worth  about  $4.00,  which  is  a  good 
deal  to  a  man  who  gets  perhaps  a  hundred  or  less, 
on  which  to  support  a  large  family  for  a  year. 

September   7th — We   started   about   five   in   the 


AN  ESKIMO  FAMILY  AT  HOME 
Facing  page  n4 


3n  American  in  Hafiraoot       115 

morning  to  go  by  sea  to  St.  Anthony,  or  "Sanan- 
tony."  When  we  were  about  half  way  there  fog 
settled  about  us  and  we  had  of  course  to  steer  by 
compass.  We  ran  into  Black  Jack  Cove,  in  which 
eleven  schooners  were  wrecked  last  year,  landed  a 
passenger,  and  cleared  out.  The  cove  is  narrow 
and  unprotected  from  certain  winds.  It  was  very 
thick  and  dusky  when  we  reached  St.  Linair  or 
Leonard  Bay  and,  as  no  one  on  board  knew  this  part 
of  the  coast,  we  put  in  for  the  night.  There  was 
formerly  a  French  settlement  here,  and  I  found  a 
man  who  could  speak  very  good  French  indeed. 

His  dogs  were  of  the  mixed  variety,  and  were  all 
tied  with  long  ropes.  Although  they  weren't  hus- 
kies, he  told  me  of  an  occasion  when  he  went  to 
feed  them  and  they  jumped  on  him  and  knocked 
him  down,  biting  him  seriously  before  his  son  could 
drive  them  off.  He  was  fortunately  able  to  get 
to  his  feet  again,  or  he  would  probably  have  been 
torn  to  pieces. 

We  reached  our  destination  and  got  four  car- 
penters to  help  finish  the  addition  of  the  hospital, 
and  started  back.  We  had  heard  stories  of  drink 
running  rife  at  Carpoon,  and  the  doctor  intended  to 
check  it  in  the  bud.  We  ran  into  the  harbor  and 
found  that  a  gang  of  French  Canadians,  foreign- 
ers of  course  to  the  country,  had  gone  on  a  spree 
with  the  only  liquor  they  could  get, — some  wood- 
alcohol.     They  took  it  at  first  diluted  with  sugar 


n6  fflitb  Dr*  &ttnttll  in  HafiraOot 

and  water,  but  as  recklessness  increased  they  forgot 
the  delicacies  and  were  soon  drinking  it  "neat.'1 
Two  had  just  died  from  the  effects  of  the  poison 
and  one  lay  sick  and  blind  for  life.  Several  more 
were  blinded  for  a  time  but  recovered. 

No  efforts  were  needed  on  our  part  to  check  the 
debauch.  It  was  indeed  pitiable,  but  no  better  ob- 
ject lesson  could  have  been  desired.  The  news  that 
these  men  had  died  from  drinking  spread  rapidly 
all  along  the  coast. 

After  doing  all  we  could  we  went  straight  on 
in  a  hard  blow.  Our  motor  got  a  hot-box  and  we 
had  to  sail.  Immediately  the  wind  died  to  a  calm 
which  lasted  for  some  time  before  a  breeze  started 
up.  Two  hours  later  we  entered  the  harbor  and 
found  that  the  Strathcona  had  arrived  laden  with 
northern  products,  including  an  addition  to  the  fox- 
farm,  some  Husky  pups,  an  Indian  "cracky,"  or 
small  dog,  with  yellow  eyes,  and  some  sealskin 
boots  for  the  staff. 

We  went  to  work  unloading  coal  from  Dr.  Gren- 
f ell's  schooner,  which  had  also  just  arrived  and 
was  alongside  the  storehouse  in  very  deep  water. 
It  took  three  days  to  unload  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty  tons  by  hand,  using  a  block  and  winch. 
The  days  were  ten-hour  days,  broken  only  by  din- 
ner and  "mug-up"  at  eleven  and  four.  This  was 
an  application  of  scientific  management,  for  we 
found  that  regular  interruptions  did  away  with  the 


an  American  in  itafcraoot       117 

necessity  for  drinks  of  water  at  all  hours.  "Mug- 
up"  is  a  light  meal  consisting  chiefly  of  tea,  with 
occasional  hard-tack,  dried  caplin,  and  biscuits. 

September  14th — On  a  bright  night  we  set  out 
over  the  still  sea  for  Antill's  Cove,  towing  in  a 
scow  some  of  our  precious  "coals"  for  our  friends 
of  the  whale  factory.  We  were  about  a  mile  from 
their  cove  when  we  made  out  a  boat  in  the  dark- 
ness, which  we  soon  saw  was  full  of  men,  rowing 
like  mad.  They  were  so  anxious  to  get  along  that 
they  did  not  see  our  side-lights  until  we  were  quite 
near,  when  they  sang  out  that  they  had  an  injured 
man  aboard.  We  stopped,  and  the  patient  was  care- 
fully transferred. 

The  men  at  the  whale  factory  had  been  cutting 
the  blubber  from  two  whales  brought  in  by  the 
steamer,  and  were  working  overtime  in  the  dark, 
so  that  the  oil  wouldn't  spoil  by  lying  over  Sunday, 
on  which  day  they  never  work  for  any  considera- 
tion. They  were  using  extremely  sharp  knives, 
with  handles  three  or  four  feet  long,  and  one  of  the 
men  had  accidentally  slashed  another.  The  skip- 
per fortunately  knew  about  a  tourniquet,  and  they 
put  on  some  heavy  whale-oil,  these  measures  dimin- 
ishing the  bleeding.  They  would  have  brought  the 
man  to  hospital  in  the  whale  steamer,  but  she 
had  just  blown  out  her  boilers.  It  was  some  dis- 
tance to  row,  but  they  had  quickly  jumped  into  a 
boat  and  pulled  at  killing  speed  for  the  hospital. 


n8   a^ttt)  %)u  &imttll  in  itafiraoot 

Next  day  we  finished  blasting  away  rocks  from 
behind  the  hospital  and  began  to  tear  down  part  of 
the  old  building.  Every  upright  had  been  chopped 
from  a  log  and  every  plank  was  hand-sawn  or  hewn. 
We  had  no  really  skilled  carpenters,  but  we  were  all 
good  at  the  sledge-hammer  and  crow-bar,  smash- 
ing out  the  walls,  ripping  up  the  floor  and  pulling 
down  the  ceiling.  The  walls  of  some  of  the  rooms 
were  covered  with  old  newspapers  and  Youth's 
Companions,  read,  reread,  and  still  doing  duty  in 
keeping  out  the  cold. 

The  men  were  all  more  or  less  sailors  and  used 
nautical  terms  in  carpentering.  We  were  about  to 
rip  the  oil-cloth  from  the  wall  of  an  upstairs  bed- 
room when  one  of  them  sang  out,  "All  han's  aloft 
to  furl  th'  'ile-skin!" 

"Ahoy,  slack  away  d'  main-sheet!"  referred  to 
the  improvised  string  fastening  of  a  door. 

September  18th — The  wind  had  increased  to  a 
fierce  gale.  The  schooners  in  the  harbor  put  out 
extra  lines  in  all  directions  to  prevent  being  blown 
loose.  The  sea  was  driven  in  great  waves  against 
all  projecting  rocks,  and  several  small  islands  were 
hidden  from  sight  by  the  continuous  wall  of  water 
blown  up  around  them.  The  water  swept  clear 
over  several  islands.  It  dashed  twenty  feet  up 
the  point  on  one  side  of  the  "souther'  tickle/'  There 
were  no  white  caps :  the  whole  sea  was  a  mass  of 
foam  with  small  green  spots  flecking  it.    The  wind 


an  American  in  ILafitaDor       119 

was  mainly  northeast  and  came  right  through  the 
tickle  with  tremendous  force,  driving  along  great 
piles  of  soap-suds  foam,  churned  up  on  the  rocks 
outside.  A  small  boat  tugged  at  an  inch  rope  until 
it  broke,  when  the  boat  was  whisked  out  through 
the  souther'  tickle  onto  the  rocks  and  was  smashed 
to  pieces. 

The  big  fish  steamer,  although  held  fast  by  nu- 
merous chains  and  ropes,  broke  her  forward  lines 
and  was  swinging  ponderously  around  toward  the 
other  side  of  the  harbor,  where  she  would  have 
swept  away  two  schooners  and  our  launch  and 
smashed  in  her  bows, — when  they  got  a  cable  ashore 
and  checked  her  a  few  yards  from  the  rocks.  It 
was  exciting,  for  there  was  but  a  small  fraction 
of  the  time  ordinarily  necessary  to  get  out  a  line  in 
which  to  prevent  great  destruction. 

We  were  thankful  she  hung  on;  but  we  realized 
that  her  one  small  cable  was  not  highly  dependable 
in  this  gale,  and  there  was  still  a  chance  of  her  last 
hold  being  broken,  so  we  decided  to  move  our 
launch  out  of  harm's  way,  although  to  do  so  was 
rather  a  risky  job.  The  doctor  was  mustering  his 
forces  on  the  wharf,  when  a  boat  put  across  from 
the  other  side ;  a  thing  which  no  one  else  had  dared 
to  do.  It  brought  four  fishermen  who  had  seen 
the  danger  the  launch  was  in,  and  volunteered  to 
take  her  out  of  it,  even  if  they  had  to  tow  her  with 
their  skiff. 


120  ffliitb  Dr*  <$imfzll  in  LafiraOor 

The  doctor  thankfully  accepted  their  aid,  which 
showed  a  very  good  spirit,  and  the  combined  crews 
reached  the  launch  after  some  hard  rowing.  We 
fired  up  and  raising  the  two  anchors  started  at  full 
speed  ahead  against  the  wind.  She  crept  along 
slowly  in  a  half-hearted  fashion  until  she  reached 
a  narrow  place  between  steep  rocks  and  the  steam- 
er's bow.  The  wind  came  through  this  funnel  with 
great  pressure  and  held  back  the  launch  as  easily 
as  would  the  touch  of  a  giant's  little  finger.  For 
some  seconds  she  didn't  budge,  despite  the  best  ef- 
forts of  the  engine;  and  it  was  almost  impossible 
to  steer  her  clear  of  the  rocks.  Gradually  she 
gained  headway  and  passed  the  steamer's  bow;  we 
made  her  lines  fast  to  the  storehouse  and  put  out, 
with  the  help  of  our  friends  in  the  skiff,  an  extra 
anchor. 

September  22nd — In  the  wake  of  the  equinoctial 
gale  we  had  just  experienced  and  which  had  not 
died  out  for  three  days,  came  the  mail  boat,  and 
I  took  a  short  trip  north.  We  landed  before  dark 
at  Spear  Harbor,  went  ashore  in  the  jolly-boat  and 
climbed  up  as  usual  the  slippery  bars  of  a  fish-stage, 
passed  through  the  low  room,  getting  a  couple  of 
bumps  on  the  same  old  spot,  and  went  up  the  rocky 
path  to  the  main  house,  the  kitchen  of  which  usually 
serves  as  a  post-office.  Benches  wainscoted  the 
walls,  occupied  chiefly  by  fishermen.  The  women- 
folk sat  in  corners  or  stood  about  the  doorway. 


an  American  in  Labrador       121 

Two  of  the  crew  entered  with  the  little  mail-bag, 
dumped  it  on  the  table  and  began  the  conversa- 
tion with: 

"Good-night,  b'ys.  Did  'e  feel  de  breeze  strong 
'ere?" 

In  another  corner  I  was  tackled  with  the  ques- 
tion: 

"Is  dey  ar'  wrack  up  d'  coas',  sir?" 

I  replied  with  the  precious  news,  "Few  on  the 
Labrador,  but  in  Newfoundland  Twillingate  is 
swept  clean, — wharf,  stages  and  all,  so  the  people 
have  no  place  to  make  their  fish.  Twenty-seven 
schooners  a  total  wreck;  only  two  hung  on  in  the 
whole  harbor.  In  Bonavista  six  schooners  lost 
and  two  Norwegians  drowned.  Three  schooners 
lost  in  American  Tickle,  one  of  them  blown  out 
to  sea  with  all  hands."  The  news  was  received  with 
neither  indifference  nor  surprise,  but  with  calm 
resignation;  in  fact  it  was  too  much  a  regular  fact 
of  their  life  to  cause  hysterical  and  useless  pity. 

While  we  were  at  Hawke's  Harbor  the  whale- 
steamer  Cachelot  (of  late  years  I  believe  a  financial 
misnomer)  came  in  with  a  freshly  caught  fin-back 
whale,  number  thirty-seven  only  though  the  sea- 
son was  nearly  over.  Further  on  several  half-breed 
Eskimo  came  aboard.  They  struck  me  as  more  en- 
terprising and  intelligent  than  the  average  white 
fisherman;  though  the  full-blooded  Eskimo  are 
much  less  provident  than  the  whites.     They  were 


122   ftoitf)  Dr*  ©renfell  in  La&raDoc 

very  talkative  and  very  anxious  to  hear  the  phono- 
graph in  the  cabin,  which  repeated  its  repertoire  of 
five  pieces  several  times.  In  the  crowd  were  a  few 
who  were  part  Indian,  fierce-looking,  dark  and 
silent. 

Wood  is  so  scarce  here  that  we  brought  some 
common  two-inch  sticks,  all  the  way  from  St.  Johns 
for  cemetery  rails.  At  this  harbor  we  met  Dr. 
Gren fell's  steamer,  the  Strathcona,  and  as  I  had 
been  invited  to  join  her  I  transferred  myself 
and  dunnage  to  her  ship's  boat.  Dr.  Grenfell  and 
his  assistant  and  crew  were  preparing  to  run  up 
Eskimo  Bay  to  Northwest  River.  We  gathered  in 
the  little  cabin  for  a  reunion  at  a  dinner  of  goose, 
which  was  unfortunately  tough  but  none  the  less 
appreciated  just  then,  because  they  had  eaten  noth- 
ing in  the  fresh  meat  and  poultry  line  for  some 
time. 

We  started  up  the  bay  and  had  just  dropped 
anchor  at  Muliak  when  a  boat  came  alongside  con- 
taining a  man  who  wanted  a  pair  of  glasses,  "So's, 
doctor,  I  kin  see  to  shoot,  doctor.  'Tis  a  'ard  t'ing, 
sir,  fer  a  man  what  depen's  mos'ly  on  'is  gun  fer 
a  livin'  when  dey  is  ar'  geese  an'  de  likes  of  dey 
about,  an'  me  wantin'  un  so  bad,  an'  can't  git  un, 
fer  me  oies." 

The  only  other  means  of  support  that  this  man 
has  is  the  salmon  fishery,  which  is  now  often  small, 
leaving  him  without  supplies  enough  for  the  winter. 


3n  American  in  Lafira&or       123 

In  the  fall  he  gets  ducks,  snipe,  yellow-legs,  and 
traps  foxes,  martens  and  once  in  a  great  while  a 
silver- fox,  which  always  pulls  him  temporarily  out 
of  the  mire. 

At  Carawalla  we  found  the  two  or  three  Es- 
kimo houses  deserted.  On  our  return  we  stayed 
over  Sunday  at  Rigolet,  where  Dr.  Grenfell  held 
three  services,  one  aboard  and  two  in  the  trader's 
dining-room,  attended  by  the  family,  servants,  and 
several  half-breeds  and  Eskimo  living  near. 
Further  on  we  stopped  to  take  aboard  some  wood 
cut  by  poverty  stricken  men  to  help  out  with  their 
year's  food.  It  was  piled  a  little  way  back  from 
the  land  wash,  and  there  was  so  much  that  it  took 
the  whole  crew  several  hours  to  carry  it  down  and 
take  it  aboard  in  the  dory,  towed  by  the  jolly-boat. 
Dr.  Grenfell  pitched  into  this  work  as  usual  and 
lugged  the  largest  back  loads  of  fire  wood.  We 
soon  reached  Indian  Harbor,  which  we  helped  to 
shut  up  for  the  winter.  The  Mission  buildings  here 
would  delight  the  heart  of  the  author  of  the  Sim- 
ple Life.  The  only  sharp  reminder  of  civilization 
in  the  plain  board  interior  is  the  small  organ  in  the 
corner  with  its  rough  hewn  stool. 

At  Cartwright  I  was  pleased  to  see  a  monument 
in  the  graveyard  to  the  famous  old  trader  Cart- 
wright,  who  founded  the  settlement.  Many  of  the 
inscriptions  dated  far  back,  and  with  their  upside- 


124  Wtb  Dr*  <£>rettfeli  fit  LatiraOot 

down  n's,  Charlotte  spelled  Chariot,  etc.,  were  amus- 
ing.   One  showed  forth  this  touching  ditty : 

"Gentle  reader,  stop  and  think, 
While  I'm  in  eternity,  you're  on  the  brink." 

Next  day  there  was  a  very  heavy  sea  and  the 
Strathcona  rolled  like  a  ball.  The  first  thing  to 
do  was  to  turn  the  table  and  chairs  upside-down, 
and  lash  everything  on  the  deck.  The  boats  on  the 
davits  at  each  side  dipped  into  the  water,  so  that 
there  was  some  danger  of  their  being  carried  away. 
The  jib-sheet  was  torn  off  by  the  force  of  the  wind, 
and  things  were  upset  generally.  It  was  a  hard 
task  getting  into  Venison  Tickle,  for  there  is  scant 
room  between  the  islands.  We  stayed  only  a  short 
time  in  spite  of  the  weather,  because  Dr.  Grenfell 
was  in  a  hurry.  The  secretary  amused  us  by  keep- 
ing his  oil-skins  always  at  hand,  ready  to  leave  at 
short  notice.  After  going  through  a  cross  sea  which 
gave  the  ship  a  patent  ball-bearing,  interlocking, 
sideways  rotary  motion,  we  arrived  at  Square 
Islands,  and  attended  to  a  large  number  of  patients. 

October  4th — Back  at  Battle  Harbor,  we  got  to 
work  again  at  the  building,  which  had  grown  in 
my  absence.  I  learned  the  gentle  art  of  shingling, 
or  how  to  make  the  roof  leak.  At  all  hours,  from 
six  in  the  morning,  when  the  day  had  just  emerged 
from  darkness,  until  six  at  night,  when  it  had  be- 
gun to  sink  again,  I  could  be  seen  clinging  like  a 


3tt  American  in  JLafiraDot       125 

limpet  to  the  scaffold,  on  which  all  true  heroes  meet 
their  end,  or  hanging  over  the  edge  or  around  a 
corner.     Then  I  went  at  painting. 

Hard-driven  authors  who  resort  for  a  theme  to 
the  delights  of  angling  should  try  the  job  of  the 
aerial  artist.  Seated  upon  his  throne, — insecure  of 
course  like  all  thrones, — he  surveys  the  vast  expanse 
of  sea,  and  the  much  vaster  expanse  of  roof.  The 
sun  is  shining  brightly — on  the  other  side  of  the 
building, — here  in  the  shade  it  is  sweetly  cold ;  bitter 
would  hardly  do,  especially  as  sweet  smells  are 
wafted  from  the  chimney  by  a  suffocating  draught 
of  smoke.  This  is  pleasant,  for  it  drowns  the  odor 
of  paint  on  the  artist's  overalls.  After  a  hard  day 
of  wrist  exercise,  the  spot  made  on  the  roof  is 
usually  large  enough  to  be  seen  with  the  naked 
eye,  but  it  shrinks  considerably  during  the  night, 
necessitating  a  long  search  for  it  before  beginning 
work  in  the  morning. 

Having  found  the  blot  on  the  'scutcheon,  the 
artist  seats  himself  comfortably  on  the  steep  side 
of  the  roof  and  coils  up  his  legs,  resting  their 
lower  ends  on  the  thin  edge  of  a  board  nailed  to 
the  slope.  He  has  crawled  out  here  from  a  window, 
and  after  carefully  painting  all  round  him  ends  up 
with  the  window,  making  it  impossible  to  get  back. 

The  men  delighted  in  simple  jokes,  such  as, 
"Hand  up  the  bake-apple  jam,  b'y,"  referring  to 
the  red  paint.     One  of  them  remarked  the   fact 


126  WLitb  Dr*  ©renfeil  in  fta&raDor 

that  I  didn't  wear  a  cap:  he  was  number  eighty- 
nine  to  ask,  "Don't  'e  mind  your  head  cold,  sir, 
widout  ar'  cap!"  With  extreme  satisfaction  one  of 
them  saw  me  put  on  mitts  toward  the  end  of  a  chilly 
day,  and  exclaimed  joyfully,  "I  sees,  if  you  is  able 
t'  bear  the  col'  on  your  'ead,  you  likes  to  wear  cuffs 
a  scattered  time."  Another  volunteered  the  state- 
ment that  if  he  hadn't  wore  a  cap  like  I  didn't  he 
like  as  not  mightn't  a  lost  his  hair  like  he  had :  dis- 
playing a  crop  in  which  harvest  had  begun. 

As  winter  was  coming  on  the  sealskins  which 
I  had  collected  from  hunters  were  turned  over  to 
an  Eskimo  woman  to  be  made  up  into  my  cold 
weather  clothes.  The  first  step  which  she  took  was 
to  soften  the  skins,  which  were  as  stiff  as  cardboard. 
My  tailor's  husband  assisted  (although  further 
north  he  would  have  scorned  doing  so).  I  also 
tried  my  hand  at  it,  but  it  was  a  slow,  hard  job.  It 
was  amazing  to  see  the  ruthless  manner  in  which 
those  prize  skins  were  handled,  or  rather  trampled ; 
but  it  appears  that  sealskin  is  exceedingly  durable. 

The  man  first  rove  a  line  through  the  holes  in 
the  edge  of  a  skin  and  tied  it  up  in  a  bunch;  then 
he  "tukikava"  (trampled)  it  with  his  sea-boots.  I 
told  him  in  great  anxiety  that  he  had  misunder- 
stood me, — that  I  wanted  the  hair  left  on.  He  re- 
plied with  the  racial,  "I  suppose,"  meaning  "Yes," 
and  continued  stamping  and  smashing  it  into  a  ball. 
Then  he  took  out  the  string,  and  holding  a  fistful 


3n  American  in  La&ta&or       127 

of  skin  in  each  hand,  made  a  rotary  motion  as 
though  turning  a  crank. 

The  skin  has  a  coating  of  black  vellum  on  the 
inside,  and  this  was  gradually  broken  up  into  white 
lines  by  mauling.  The  next  process  consisted  in 
man  and  wife  each  seizing  an  end  and  twisting  the 
skin  until  the  latent  oil  appeared  in  beads.  This 
was  wiped  off  and  the  skin  again  "tukikava," — 
rubbed  or  ground  as  above.  We  spent  several 
evenings  at  this  wrist  exercise,  I  trying  to  hurry 
matters  along.  Matters  are  very  slow  in  spite  of 
hurrying;  I  have  never  seen  an  Eskimo  run  or  do 
anything  speedily  except  eat. 

The  numerous  white  lines  had  now  become 
merged  together  and  no  dark  was  visible,  so  that 
the  skins  were  ready  to  be  scraped  with  a  "kiliu- 
tok,"  a  native  tool  somewhat  like  a  sugar-scoop. 
To  use  this  one  holds  the  skin  taut  over  the  edge 
of  a  bench  with  the  knee  and  one  hand,  and  plows 
right  in  with  the  tool.  The  act  is  performed  with 
all  the  force  one  can  summon,  which  by  the  time 
the  tail  is  reached  is  very  little  indeed.  The  skin 
is  left  white  and  pliable,  although  it  never  becomes 
as  soft  as  deerskin.  The  good  folk  finally  realized 
that  I  wanted  the  clothes  for  use  that  winter  instead 
of  the  following  one,  and  began  to  work  a  bit  more 
speedily.  They  really  took  a  hearty  interest  in 
getting  them  just  right. 

As  bought  the  skins  are  split  and  stretched  flat, 


128   mitb  Dr*  <&itnttll  m  LafiraOot 

oval  in  shape  and  from  two  to  six  feet  long,  with 
the  hair  on.  In  full-grown  seals  used  for  clothing, 
the  hair  is  only  about  half  an  inch  long  and  not 
thick;  in  the  whelps  or  "white-coats"  the  hair 
grows  two  inches  before  it  is  changed  for  the  new 
short  gray  coat.  The  best  skin  is  that  of  the  ranger ; 
it  is  a  beautiful  silvery  gray  on  the  belly,  and  has 
very  dark  spots  close  together  on  the  back.  Next 
to  this  is  the  bedlamer,  or  young  harp,  with  light 
half -moons  on  its  back,  and  the  jar,  with  light-gray 
circles,  also  set  in  dark  gray.  The  largest  variety 
is  the  square-flipper,  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  long, 
with  skin  as  thick  as  shoe  leather.  That  of  young 
square-flippers  and  of  harps  is  used  for  boot-bot- 
toms; while  ordinary  sealskin,  about  as  thick  as 
sheepskin,  is  used  for  the  legs. 

After  several  days  of  hard  labor  my  lady-tailor 
proceeded  to  cut  out  the  trousers  or  "hudulik"  en- 
tirely by  eye,  using  a  "wulu,"  a  sharp  tool  much  like 
a  small  meat-chopper.  This  particular  one  was  of 
ancient  Eskimo  manufacture,  nearly  a  hundred 
years  old,  having  been  handed  down  through  several 
generations.  The  ivory  handle  had  been  polished 
and  the  blade  worn  to  half  its  original  size  by  con- 
stant use. 

After  cutting  out  the  pieces  the  good  woman  pro- 
ceeded to  sew  them  together  with  whale-sinew 
(which  had  been  drying  on  the  roof),  and  a  square- 
topped  needle.    This  sinew  runs  along  the  back  of 


The  author  in  the   Eskimo  sealskin   clothes  he   wore  during 
the    winter,    examining    Eskimo    carving 

Facing  page    128 


an  American  to  La&raOot       129 

the  whale  and  is  as  large  as  a  man's  wrist;  while 
dry  it  was  split  up  into  four  or  five  cords  and  each 
of  these  was  again  split  and  resplit  into  strings, 
which  were  dried  for  four  or  five  days,  and  then 
split  into  threads  as  needed.  It  was  quite  a  task  to 
"mitsuk"  the  trousers,  but  the  result  was  worth 
while.  They  were  mainly  of  two  pieces,  a  whole 
skin  to  each  leg:  in  shape  they  were  just  like  or- 
dinary trousers,  but  large  enough  to  be  worn  out- 
side a  pair.  Around  the  bottom  they  have  a  two- 
inch  band  of  white-haired  skin.  Around  the  top 
there  is  another  white  band.  There  is  one  deep 
pocket,  put  in  as  an  extraordinary  innovation,  only 
after  much  discussion. 

This  work  of  art  completed,  the  "netsik,"  or  shirt, 
was  tackled  in  the  same  manner.  This  is  the  same 
shape  as  a  sweater,  but  is  loose  enough  to  go  outside 
coat,  sweater  and  trousers,  and  has  a  hood,  which 
is  part  of  the  back  and  front  pieces,  and  a  peak  at 
the  back  of  the  top:  it  frames  the  face,  the  chin 
and  forehead  being  partly  covered.  The  bottom  and 
sleeves  have  the  same  two-inch  band  of  white-haired 
skin. 

Dr.  Grenfell  was  kind  enough  to  give  me  a  silver 
fox-skin  to  trim  it  with,  and  two  strips  from  the 
back  with  soft,  long  hair  were  bound  around  the 
front  edge  of  the  hood,  to  prevent  the  cheeks  from 
freezing.  The  seal-skin  "cuffs,"  or  mitts,  I  also  had 
trimmed  with  fox-skin  around  the  wrists.     These 


130  Witb  2X  (Srenfell  in  JLafiraDor 

mitts  were  thin,  and,  of  course,  not  warm  enough 
by  themselves.  Their  advantage  is  that  they  are 
windproof,  and  when  worn  over  a  pair  of  blanket- 
ing mitts  they  are  ideal. 

I  had  several  pairs  of  these  mittens  made,  and 
also  a  lot  of  blanketing  socks  to  wear,  one  or  two 
pairs  at  a  time,  over  my  long  stockings  and  inside 
my  seal-skin  boots.  These  proved  in  one  way  better 
than  arctic  hare  socks,  because  they  were  absorbent. 
With  this  outfit  I  felt  fully  prepared  for  winter; 
the  only  portion  of  my  anatomy  which  could  possi- 
bly freeze  being  my  nose,  and,  as  that  article  seemed 
at  first  impossible  to  cover,  I  was  somewhat  per- 
plexed ;  however,  a  brilliant  thought  struck  me,  and 
I  sent  to  America  for  a  football  nose-guard.  It  later 
proved  utterly  impracticable  because  the  rubber  be- 
came dangerously  cold  and  froze  to  my  lips.  A  less 
fool  idea  was  used  by  one  of  my  colleagues;  an 
amusing  rabbit-fur  shield.  Freezing  of  the  vapor 
in  the  enclosed  air  made  it  more  of  a  nuisance,  how- 
ever, than  occasional  frost-bite. 

I  notice  from  my  friends'  remarks  that  some  of 
them  seem  to  have  the  impression  that  a  mission  can 
exist  only  among  wild,  untamed  savages.  The  peo- 
ple of  Labrador  do  not  deserve  this  compliment,  for 
they  have  yet  to  learn  the  edibility  of  the  English 
and  American  persons  laboring  among  them ;  even 
the  dogs,  with  their  carnivorous  tendencies,  seem 


an  American  in  Jtafiratiot       131 

to  have  looked  upon  them  as  the  amateur  does  upon 
the  mushroom,  so  far  sticking  to  the  local  species. 

Many  of  the  Labrador  and  Newfoundland  fisher- 
men have,  however,  peculiarities  as  pleasing  at  times 
and  shocking  at  others,  as  those  of  savages.  One  of 
their  idiosyncrasies  consists  in  buying  an  outfit  of 
clothes  at  the  beginning  of  the  fishing  season  and 
placing  them  where  they  belong;  then,  in  order  to 
perform  no  unnecessary  labor,  and  also  to  conserve 
the  bodily  heat,  they  allow  their  garments  to  "stop" 
on,  night  and  day  and  other  times,  until  a  shirt  wears 
out;  then  they  put  another  over  it  to  cover  up  the 
holes. 

As  a  result  of  this  labor-saving  scheme,  night- 
clothes  are  few  in  the  realm.  Therefore  I  was  not 
much  surprised  when  one  of  the  men  came  to  me  in 
their  usual  child-like  confidence  to  show  me  a  suit 
of  clothes  for  the  winter  which  he  had  picked  out  in 
payment  for  work.  The  doctor  had  merely  made 
sure  that  he  was  getting  the  correct  value,  but  had 
not  noticed  what  he  had  taken,  and  it  was  for  me 
to  discover  that  his  find  was  a  heavy  suit  of  woolen 
pajamas.  When  I  recovered  and  explained  to  him 
he  was  very  downcast. 

"Sure  dere's  vist  an'  all  to  un,  sir,"  he  remon- 
strated; "do  dere  bees  min  what  'auls  off  every- 
thing and  weers  dey  to  bid?  Slapes  in  um?  Moi 
son!  Shifts  every  night!  Moi  sweet  man!  I 
tought  dey  was  a  bewtiful  suit.    An'  I'd  a  wore  um! 


132   Wiitf)  Dr*  &unttll  in  LafiraDor 

Sich  clever  tassels!  First  col'  day  'e  'd  a  saw  me 
hout  in  urn!    Moi  sonn!    Ain't  dat  too  bad!" 

Billy,  a  half-witted  old  man  with  a  paralyzed  arm, 
who  splits  wood  for  his  keep  at  the  hospital,  fell 
down  and  skinned  his  nose.  As  soon  as  he  arose, 
displaying  the  injured  member,  there  was  a  general 
chorus  of  "Billy's  wracked.  Carried  away  de  jib- 
boom  r 

On  Monday  afternoon  there  was  a  church  wed- 
ding ;  and,  not  wishing  to  miss  any  available  fun,  I 
went.  Being  already  more  or  less  familiar  with  the 
interior  decorations,  I  was  in  no  hurry  to  enter; 
but  waited  instead  for  the  bridal  party.  At  three- 
quarters  past  the  appointed  hour  a  boat  was  des- 
cried coming  around  the  point  from  Trap  Cove; 
the  anxious  watchers  around  me  gave  a  sigh  of 
relief,  for  it  was  overly  cold  for  their  best  clothes. 
A  bunch  of  "bride-boys"  (bridesmaids)  rushed 
down  to  the  fishing-stage  to  do  the  greetings, 
while  the  men  assisted  the  toe-pinched  male  portion 
of  the  bridal  party  to  haul  their  sea  cab  up  on  the 
rocks,  after  doing  which  the  man  proceeded  to  the 
church  with  his  "  'ooman"  on  his  arm,  followed  by 
four  or  five  "bride-boys,"  each  with  her  future 
"man"  on  one  side  or  the  other,  just  as  it  happened. 

Let  me  explain  that  "boy"  is  used  generally  with- 
out regard  to  sex,  and  a  phrase  like  "Yes,  boy,"  is 
often  equivalent  to  "Yes,  indeed."  A  boy  is  called 
"young- feller"  or  sometimes  a  "small  young-feller." 


an  American  in  Lafiraliot       133 

Filing  thus  past  groups  of  admiring  friends,  who 
waited  respectfully  on  the  steps,  the  bridal  party 
marched  up  the  aisle  and  seated  themselves  on  the 
front  seat.  It  was  a  rather  dark  day  and  the  church 
was  filled  with  people  and  a  dim  religious  light.  In 
front,  however,  sufficient  light  shone  from  the 
bride's  greenish-blue  dress  to  enable  the  minister  to 
read  the  service.  I  did  not  ascertain  whether  the 
groom  had  borrowed  the  shoes  he  wore ;  but  I  think 
they  must  have  been  used  during  the  courting;  if  so 
they  were  a  valuable  asset,  for  they  were  almost 
all  patent  leather  and  still  able  to  outshine  any  or- 
dinary kitchen  stove.  The  ring,  the  maid-of-honor's 
dress,  and  a  few  other  pieces  of  regalia  had  been 
borrowed,  I  heard ;  but  the  question  in  my  mind  is 
"From  whom?" 

The  hitching  proceeded  without  many  pauses,  the 
hardest  part  being  the  manipulation  of  clumsy 
hands,  where  the  minister  has  to  see  that  the 
groom's  right  grasps  the  bride's  right.  As  the  ser- 
vice was  entirely  from  the  book,  down  north,  where 
people  frequently  marry  and  then  wait  a  year  or  so 
for  the  minister,  one  of  the  neighbors  can  easily  do 
the  job,  with  a  little  practice,  and  a  canvas  apron 
for  a  surplice. 

During  the  service  the  wind  had  increased  to  a 
gale  and  it  was  snowing  hard,  making  it  too  dan- 
gerous to  round  the  point  to  Trap  Cove.  The  only 
alternative  for  the  party  was  to  walk  up  over  the 


134  mtf)  Dr*  &ttnttll  in  La&ta&ot 

high  hill  between  them  and  the  harbor,  and  get 
someone  to  put  them  over  to  our  side  of  the 
tickle.  This  they  started  to  do,  but  the  blinding 
snow  put  them  off  their  course,  and  the  wind  made 
it  impossible  to  climb.  They  slowly  zigzagged  up 
a  short  distance,  and  finally,  losing  their  way  alto- 
gether, turned  back  and  made  for  the  lights.  They 
reached  the  house  shortly  before  two,  and,  yielding 
to  the  inevitable,  resolved  to  stay  over  night  at  a 
neighbor's. 

The  next  day,  when  I  looked  out  of  the  window, 
I  gained  the  impression  that  the  house  had  been 
tipped  over  on  its  side,  for  it  was  snowing  hard, 
straight  across  the  window,  parallel  to  the  ground; 
the  falling  snow  being  blown  that  way  by  the  gale. 
All  this  day  the  exiles  were  unable  to  return.  I 
went  on  an  errand  to  a  house  on  the  point,  and  was 
hardly  able  to  push  against  the  wind,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  my  legs  were  well  sheltered  from  it,  for 
in  some  places  I  was  up  to  the  waist  in  soft  snow. 
On  the  return  trip  I  had  a  "fair"  wind,  which  blew 
me  along,  so  that  I  only  needed  to  lean  back  and 
keep  my  feet  ahead  of  me.  I  carried  a  bundle,  and 
could  hardly  look  around  without  finding  a  silent 
dog  or  two  sneaking  up  behind  to  smell  of  it.  This 
was  interesting,  for  one  of  the  nurses  was  going 
along  the  same  path  last  year,  when  the  dogs  sprang 
suddenly  on  her  from  behind,  threw  her  down,  and 
began  to  tear  at  her.    Fortunately  she  was  well  bun- 


3n  American  in  La&ratior       135 

died  up,  and  their  bites  had  not  yet  penetrated  her 
clothing  when  a  man  rushed  out  of  a  nearby  house 
and  drove  them  off. 

I  was  glad  to  see  Battle  Harbor  in  its  winter 
costume,  for  its  appearance  is  much  changed.  The 
snow  was  blown  from  the  projecting  rocks  and 
packed  into  the  crevices.  In  spite  of  its  stays,  the 
top  of  the  flagstaff  was  broken  off  short.  The  dogs 
lay  around,  comfortably  nestled  in  the  snow,  or  ran 
about  looking  for  scraps.  They  are  rather  more 
dangerous  now  than  during  the  summer,  when  they 
can  get  plenty  of  cod  heads  and  entrails  from  be- 
neath the  splitting  rooms,  for  now  the  fishing  is 
practically  over,  and  the  people  don't  begin  to  feed 
their  dogs  until  there  is  enough  snow  to  use  them  on. 

The  snow  had  come  and  been  followed  by  a  thaw, 
but  was  not  gone  by  the  afternoon  of  October  25th 
when  we  set  out  in  the  launch  for  the  whale  factory 
at  Antill's  Cove,  towing  two  trap-skiffs.  There  had 
been  a  run  of  whales,  and  eight  were  rotting  in  the 
water,  stripped  only  of  their  blubber.  They  had 
come  in  so  fast  that  the  men  were  not  able  to  cut 
up  the  carcasses  to  make  fertilizer.  When  we 
reached  the  wharf  another  whale  had  just  been 
hauled  up  on  the  slanting  slip.  It  was  sixty  feet 
long  and  nearly  twice  the  height  of  a  man.  It  had 
been  dead  two  days,  but  the  large  feather-bed 
tongue  was  still  trembling  when  I  crawled  up  into 
the  open  mouth. 


136  mitb  Dr*  <$iznUU  in  Labrador 

There  was  a  steam-winch  at  the  head  of  the 
wharf,  and,  the  first  operation,  after  cutting  off  the 
large  tail,  was  to  cut  long  strips  of  thick  blubber 
and  tear  them  off  with  a  steel  cable  from  the  winch. 
They  were  then  cut  up  into  pieces  a  foot  square,  so 
that  the  oil  would  be  boiled  out.  The  coarse-fibered 
flesh  is  cut  up  into  cubes  of  the  same  size  and  boiled 
also.  As  the  blood  gushed  out  and  ran  in  large 
streams  down  the  slip,  it  was  steaming  hot  and 
pleasant  to  warm  one's  feet  in,  for  it  could  not  pene- 
trate sea-boots. 

We  obtained  a  supply  of  whale  carving-knives, 
which  have  handles  four  feet  long,  and  have  to  be 
sharpened  frequently  with  horn-handled  steels  ex- 
actly like  those  used  in  American  dining-rooms. 
The  other  tool  necessary  was  a  steel  hook,  about 
two  feet  long,  with  a  loop  handle.  With  this  equip- 
ment we  ran  one  of  the  skiffs  through  a  narrow 
passage  between  two  whales  and  into  a  small  cove 
in  a  partly  cut-up  body. 

Half  of  the  party  clambered  aboard  the  whale, 
and  we  all  began  cutting  steaks.  One  would  get  a 
grip  with  his  hook,  while  the  others  cut  out  a  ten 
or  twenty-pound  block,  which  the  first  lifted  into 
the  boat.  We  frequently  sank  almost  to  the  knee 
in  the  blubber,  and  one  man,  climbing  up  a  small 
hill,  fell  over  the  edge  into  a  deep  valley  filled  with 
salt  water,  and  was  rescued  with  some  difficulty. 


|i 

Hit ; 

UK  ^wJ 

' 

w       H  ill 
Hm              It  '  '  * 
w^k.  IB     1. 1  > 

■  : 

■■,  - 

w 
w 

Q 

w 


an  American  m  Labrador       137 

After  loading  two  trap  skiffs,  we  got  back  to  the 
hospital  with  a  fine  lot  of  food  for  our  dogs. 

A  short  time  later  we  got  off  our  last  mail,  by 
dog-team,  and  settled  down  for  the  long  winter  in 
Dr.  Grenf  ell's  country  of  adventure. 


CHAPTER   IX 


THE    LABRADOR    ESKIMO 


The  Eskimo  of  Labrador  have  always  been  more 
or  less  of  a  problem  to  men  of  science.  In  the  first 
place  their  origin  has  never  been  definitely  estab- 
lished. There  are  certain  anthropological  reasons 
for  tracing  them  back  to  Mongolian  stock,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  there  are  many  radical  differences 
which  nearly  discount  this  theory.  Such  small  mat- 
ters as,  for  instance,  the  cross-section  of  the  hair, 
prove  that  they  are  of  a  quite  different  stock  from 
the  Chinese  and  Japanese,  and  their  stature,  build 
and  appearance  are  wholly  different  from  those  of 
the  North  American  Indian. 

The  resemblance  to  the  Eastern  races  is  further 
completed  by  their  general  intellectual  development, 
or  rather  their  possibilities  for  intellectual  develop- 
ment, and  their  mechanical  ingenuity  and  skill.  The 
Eskimo  are  frequently  regarded  as  stolid  and  igi 
norant  people,  whereas  the  reverse  is  distinctly  true. 
They  manifest  very  considerable  ability  in  learning. 

The  Eskimo  seem  to  have  a  natural  language 
sense.     Their  own  language  is  quite  well  developed 

138 


Cfje  £a6taHor  Eskimo  139 

in  its  spoken  state  and  differs  very  slightly  from 
the  Eskimo  of  Alaska  and  Greenland.  It  is  the 
Moravian  missionaries  who  have  reduced  this  lan- 
guage to  a  written  basis,  very  satisfactorily  con- 
structing the  words  according  to  the  phonetic  sys- 
tem, with  which  their  native  language,  German,  had 
made  them  familiar. 

The  following  specimen  of  written  Eskimo  is 
from  a  translation  of  one  of  the  Psalms : 

8.  Tamanna  pivlugo  taipkotitunak-ituksaungi- 
lase:  Atatapse  attoriakartasse  kaujimaveit  tuksiar- 
vigekartinnassiuk. 

9.  Taimak  pivlugo  imak  tuksiaritse:  Atatavut 
killangme!    Akkit  nakorijaule. 

10.  Nalegaunit  kailaule.  Perkojettit  malliltaulit 
nuname  sorlo  killangme. 

11.  Uvlome  piksaptingnik  tunnitsivigittigut. 

12.  Ajornivut  issumagijungnerkit,  sorlo  uvagut 
uvaptingnut  ajortullijut  issumagijungneraptigik. 

13.  Oktorlungnartomut  pitinata,  piulittigule  ajor- 
tunnit.  Nalegaunek,  pitsartunerlo,  ananaunerlo 
pigigangne  issokangitomut.     Amen. 

The  language  is  replete  with  consonants,  quite 
too  much  so  for  beauty.  There  is  the  same  differ- 
ence which  is  noted  in  most  Northern  languages  as 
compared  to  Southern  ones;  namely,  the  much 
diminished  use  of  the  lips  in  forming  the  words 
and  the  comparative  stiffness  which  results.  In 
fact,  Eskimo  represents  the  extreme  in  this  particu- 


ho  Wlitb  Dr*  ©renfell  in  katiraDor 

lar,  and  can  be  spoken  with  the  face  practically  im- 
mobile and  almost  no  motion,  not  only  of  the  lips 
but  even  of  the  jaws.  Spencer  and  other  author- 
ities believe  that  this  is  the  direct  result  of  the 
severe  cold,  which  naturally  stiffens  the  face  and 
tends  to  diminish  flexibility  of  the  lips.  This 
seems  a  practical  theory,  especially  as  it  is  true  that 
the  Eskimo  in  speaking  even  hold  the  teeth  tight 
shut.  When  first  learning  English  they  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  get  over  this  habit,  and  the  resulting  speech 
is  extremely  amusing,  giving  the  impression  that 
the  speaker  is  undergoing  a  chill. 

Several  hundred  years  ago  many  of  the  Eskimo 
were  taught  German  by  the  Moravians,  and  ever 
since  then  a  large  number  of  them  have  spoken  this 
language  and  also  English,  which  they  have  learned 
from  the  traders  and  the  visiting  fishermen  and 
whalers.  They  also  early  learned  the  language  of 
the  Indians  of  the  interior,  a  form  of  Cree.  In  a 
few  cases  they  have  also  learned  French  from  the 
Indians  and  occasional  strangers.  Many  of  them 
to-day  speak  nothing  but  Eskimo,  but  a  considerable 
number  speak  Indian,  German  and  English  besides, 
showing  a  facility  which  indicates  the  possession  of 
at  least  one  kind  of  brain  power  to  a  considerable 
degree. 

Another  evidence  of  the  Eastern  mind  is  the 
manual  work  in  which  the  Eskimo  engage.  Ex- 
tremely limited  as  to  materials  and  tools,  their  work, 


Cfje  LatiraOor  (Eskimo  141 

while  cruder,  is  nevertheless  clever  and  intricate  in 
a  manner  which  suggests  the  work  of  the  Chinese 
and  Japanese.  Their  carving  in  ivory,  which  they 
obtain  from  the  tusks  of  walrus,  is  very  cleverly 
done,  although  without  the  formal  design  shown  in 
Eastern  work  of  the  same  sort.  Their  pictures  of 
animals  and  hunting  scenes  are  simple  line  draw- 
ings, usually  scratched  on  the  surface  of  a  tusk  with 
a  sharp  instrument  and  marked  in  later  with  black 
pigment.  To  be  sure  these  attempts  are  not  capable 
of  ranking  with  civilized  work,  but  they  have  the 
good  qualities  of  fairly  close  attention  to  detail. 
Their  chief  fault  is  the  same  mechanical  formality 
and  stiffness  found  in  the  very  best  Eastern  work 
of  to-day,  for  which  no  apologies  are  made. 

They  seem  to  have  a  love  of  beauty,  and  manifest 
it  less  by  ornamenting  their  tools  and  utensils  than 
by  making  them,  in  their  eyes  at  least,  beautiful  in 
form  and  clever  in  construction.  On  the  Labrador, 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  the  traders  have  brought 
civilization  to  a  considerable  extent  and  with  it 
civilized  utensils,  weapons  and  material  such  as  iron. 
Nevertheless  many  of  the  ancient  Eskimo  tools  are 
still  in  use.  Among  the  very  Northern  Eskimo  may 
still  be  found  bone  knives  and  soapstone  lamps.  As 
one  goes  farther  south  these  become  rarer.  The 
bone  snow  knife,  which  is  used  for  cutting  blocks 
of  snow  to  make  snow  houses,  as  shelters  on  the 
journey,  is  pretty  widely  found. 


142  With  Dr*  (Srenfell  in  Labrador 

It  is  extremely  interesting  to  see  the  extent  to 
which  the  Eskimo  have  adapted  civilized  materials 
to  their  ancient  designs.  I  have,  for  instance,  a 
"wulu,"  or  skin  scraper,  which  is  an  exact  repro- 
duction in  wood  and  a  piece  of  iron  stovepipe  of  an 
instrument  formerly  made  of  some  strong  bone.  I 
also  have  a  tool,  the  "kiliutok,"  mentioned  in  the 
chapter  "An  American  in  Labrador,"  which  is  used 
for  cutting  out  sealskin  garments,  and  which  was 
formerly  made  of  the  hard  outside  bone  from  the 
jaw  of  a  whale,  which,  in  this  specimen,  has  a  blade 
of  iron  skilfully  riveted  to  an  ivory  handle.  The 
complete  instrument  resembles  an  old-fashioned 
meat-chopper  of  the  single  blade  variety.  The  very 
ingenious  fire  drill,  in  which  a  stick  is  made  to  re- 
volve in  a  small  hollow  in  a  piece  of  wood  by  means 
of  a  bow,  the  string  of  which  is  twisted  about  the 
stick,  is  now  very  little  used  in  Labrador,  if  at  all, 
because  of  the  introduction  of  matches. 

Similarly  rifles  have  largely  driven  out  the  use  of 
the  Eskimo  harpoon,  which  was  one  of  the  best  in- 
stances of  the  Eskimo's  inventive  ability.  It  con- 
sisted of  a  wooden  shaft  made  usually  from  a  piece 
of  driftwood,  to  which  was  lashed  a  complicated 
ivory  point,  in  such  a  manner  as  automatically  to 
dislodge  as  soon  as  it  had  entered  the  seal's  body, 
and,  by  permitting  the  shaft  to  float  free,  prevent 
the  breaking  of  a  very  scarce  and  consequently  val- 
uable thing  like  a  piece  of  wood.     To  the  weapon 


C&e  Lafiratior  (Eskimo  143 

was  also  attached  a  long  line  made  of  sealskin  or 
walrus  hide,  at  the  other  end  of  which  was  an  in- 
flated seal's  bladder,  which  prevented  the  animal 
from  sinking,  and  thus  being  lost  after  he  was 
killed. 

The  ability  of  the  Eskimo  is  well  shown  by  the 
extent  to  which  they  have  in  the  past  adapted  bone 
to  the  uses  ordinarily  served  by  iron  and  steel. 
They  have,  for  instance,  manufactured  needles  of 
hard  bone,  which  are  by  no  means  large  or  clumsy, 
and  in  which  they  have  drilled  tiny  eyes  by  means 
of  a  very  small  piece  of  sharp  stone  mounted  at  the 
end  of  the  drill  similar  to  the  one  used  in  making 
fire.  Thread  was  undoubtedly  a  problem  at  first 
because  there  was  no  vegetable  substance  from 
which  it  could  be  made.  This  was  solved  by  the 
use  of  sinew  from  the  various  animals,  the  most 
common  being  the  seal  and  caribou  and  the  most 
valued  the  whale.  The  huge  ligament  which  runs 
down  the  back,  and  to  which  are  attached  the  mus- 
cles which  move  the  whale's  enormous  tail,  is  about 
as  large  as  a  man's  wrist.  This  is  cut  out,  dried 
and  split  into  finer  and  finer  fibers  until  pieces  the 
thickness  of  thread  are  finally  obtained.  These  are 
so  tough  that  it  is  nearly  impossible  to  break  them. 

The  Eskimo  women  can  be  rivaled  by  none  as 
seamstresses ;  their  sewing  is  so  delicately  and  skil- 
fully done  that  their  seams  are  not  only  strong,  but 
water-  and  air-tight.     The  boots  which  they  make 


144  Miftft  Dr*  arenfeil  in  HafitaBor 

are  undoubtedly  the  best  in  the  world.  It  is  said 
that  on  the  Labrador  coast  an  Eskimo  woman's 
marriageability  is  dependent  upon  the  condition  of 
her  teeth,  because  as  long  as  she  is  able  to  chew  the 
edges  of  the  tough  sealskin  in  order  to  make  them 
soft  for  sewing,  she  is  still  a  fit  companion  and  help- 
mate to  her  husband.  European  clothes  and  ma- 
terials are  being  more  and  more  used  on  the  coast, 
especially  in  summer;  but  among  the  Eskimo  seal- 
skin is  very  largely  worn  in  winter. 

There  are  three  parts  to  the  wardrobe :  the  "net- 
sik,"  or  cossack,  which  is  the  combined  jacket  and 
hood  pulled  down  over  the  head,  "hudulik,"  or 
trousers,  and  the  "kamik,"  or  boots,  not  to  mention 
the  mitts.  The  top  garment,  like  all  the  others,  is 
made  exactly  in  the  same  way  from  one  end  of  the 
coast  to  the  other.  The  best  seal  is  the  species 
called  "ranger,"  which  is  a  beautiful  silvery  gray 
mottled  with  darker  spots  on  the  back  and  nearly 
white  on  the  belly.  The  boots  are  made  knee  length, 
with  a  soft  moccasin  bottom,  and  are  also  of  seal- 
skin, the  hair  being  turned  outside  and  scraped  off. 
Formerly  the  Eskimo  wore  underclothes  of  bird 
skins,  the  breasts  of  eider  ducks  being  chiefly  used. 
Now,  however,  undergarments  the  same  shape  as 
the  outer  ones  are  made  of  "duffle"  or  blanketing. 

European  influence  has  also  been  felt  in  the  mat- 
ter of  food,  very  much  to  the  detriment  of  the 
Eskimo.    Their  teeth,  which  formerly,  without  any 


Cfte  LafiraOor  (Eskimo  145 

scientific  care,  were  flawless,  are  now  very  generally 
injured  by  the  effects  of  sugar,  or  rather  molasses, 
with  which  they  sweeten  their  tea.  Indirectly  this 
has  undermined  their  digestions,  aided  in  this  mat- 
ter by  the  injurious  effect  of  tea,  and  has  been  one 
of  the  factors  in  impairing  the  wonderful  strength 
of  constitution  which  the  Eskimo  formerly  had. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  by  scientific  men 
as  to  the  effect  of  environment  on  diet.  It  is  claimed 
by  most  popular  writers  that  meat,  and  especially 
fat,  is  craved  in  a  Northern  climate,  and  is,  in  fact, 
absolutely  essential  to  health.  This  is  probably  not 
true,  for,  although  fat  is  eaten  more  willingly  in  the 
cold  climate,  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  the 
Eskimo  or  anyone  else  could  not  subsist  perfectly 
well  on  farinaceous  foods,  if  only  these  were  as 
readily  obtainable. 

If  the  Eskimo  are  of  Mongolian  origin,  or  if,  as 
must  be  true,  they  came  from  a  more  southern 
climate,  they  furnish  the  best  instance  of  man's 
ability  to  adapt  himself  to  widely  varying  condi- 
tions. The  climate  is,  of  course,  the  worst  of  these 
conditions  with  which  they  have  to  contend.  Their 
first  efforts  were  naturally  against  rather  than  with 
this  condition — namely,  the  protection  of  their 
bodies  by  means  of  fur  clothing  and  fire. 

But  slowly  they  underwent  a  passive  adaptation 
accomplished  by  Nature  alone.  Like  the  northern 
animals  and  the  comparatively  inactive  women- folk 


146  With  2X  atenfeli  fit  La&raDor 

of  the  cave-dwellers,  they  gradually  developed  a 
layer  of  fatty  tissue.  Consequently,  they  are  mar- 
velously  able  to  withstand  the  cold,  even  the  occa- 
sional temperatures  of  sixty  and  more  degrees  be- 
low zero,  and  the  much  more  severe  blizzards  at  a 
higher  temperature.  I  have  never  heard  of  an 
Eskimo  suffering  from  freezing,  though  it  doubtless 
has  happened. 
^  Another  condition  to  which  the  Eskimo  have 
adapted  themselves  is  the  sunlight.  During  the 
spring,  especially  in  March,  the  sun  approaches  very 
near  the  earth,  and  its  light  is  therefore  very  in- 
tense. The  temperature  is  still  below  zero,  except 
in  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun,  where  it  becomes  un- 
comfortably warm.  Snow  still  covers  the  entire 
landscape,  and  each  noon  its  topmost  surface  melts 
very  slightly.  All  the  rest  of  the  day  it  freezes 
again,  producing  a  glassy  surface,  which  reflects  the 
dazzling  sunlight  with  cruel  brilliancy. 

For  the  ordinary  mortal  a  short  exposure  to  this 
light  affects  the  eyes  quite  painfully.  A  day  of  it 
or  less  causes  the  affliction  known  as  snow-blind- 
ness. The  sufferer's  eyes  become  swollen  and 
watery,  and  soon  he  is  absolutely  unable  to  see. 
Whether  he  opens  his  eyes  or  keeps  them  shut  the 
feeling  is  as  though  a  mixture  of  pepper,  sand  and 
acid  were  being  continually  dashed  into  them. 
Nothing  can  give  material  relief;    and  the  pain  is 


Cfte  La&raOor  (Eskimo  147 

severe.  With  the  lapse  of  time,  however,  the  afflic- 
tion gradually  disappears. 

White  men  prevent  much  of  this  suffering  by 
wearing  smoked  glasses.  The  light  is  very  apt  to 
enter  from  beneath  and  sideways,  however.  Gog- 
gles are  better;  but  some  men  become  snow-blind 
in  spite  of  every  precaution.  The  Eskimo  had  no 
glass,  but  they  made  very  ingenious  wooden  goggles 
fitting  the  eye  socket  closely,  and  provided,  instead 
of  glass  lenses,  with  two  narrow  slits,  crossing  at 
right  angles,  through  which  they  could  see  per- 
fectly. 

But  here,  too,  passive  adaptation  seems  to  have 
taken  place,  for  the  Eskimo  are  much  better  able  to 
stand  the  glare  than  white  men.  It  is  not  impossible 
that  their  slit-like  eyes  have  been  evolved  directly 
by  the  effect  of  this  condition  on  many  generations. 
Nowhere  has  the  environment  been  more  unmerci- 
ful, and  consequently  the  survival  of  the  fittest 
more  relentlessly  worked  out  than  in  the  North.  It 
seems  entirely  possible  that  those  individuals  whose 
eyes  happened  to  vary  from  the  normal  toward  a 
narrower  shape,  letting  in  less  light,  were  able  to 
hunt  in  times  of  severity,  while  the  less  fortunate 
Eskimo  starved  because  of  blindness.  Among  the 
following  generations  would  have  been  a  larger  per 
centage  of  individuals  with  the  successful  form  of 
eye;  and  gradually  this  form  would  have  become, 
as  it  is,  a  racial  characteristic.     This  theory  tends 


148   £Oitf)  Dr*  <&untzll  in  ila&raOor 

to  disprove  the  Mongolian  origin  of  the  Eskimo, 
because  it  offers  a  quite  different  explanation  of 
their  appearance. 

On  the  other  hand  some  sort  of  southern  origin 
seems  imperative  as  an  explanation  of  the  Eskimo's 
character.  There  are  very  few,  if  any,  northern 
races  whose  mental  make-up  has  not  a  serious,  se- 
date, heavy,  or  even  morose  tone.  The  northern 
Indians,  Norwegians,  Anglo-Saxons  and  Russians 
all  have  different  varieties  of  this  general  tempera- 
ment. The  Eskimo,  on  the  contrary,  have  a  sunny, 
genial,  amiable,  care-free  nature,  more  or  less  re- 
sembling that  of  the  French,  Italians  and  negroes. 

If  the  Labrador  Eskimo  were  originally  as  war- 
like and  treacherous  as  the  early  explorers  and  mis- 
sionaries relate,  the  change  which  has  taken  place 
in  them  is  indeed  marvelous.  One  must  remember 
that  these  pioneers  called  them  Indians,  not  differ- 
entiating them  as  a  separate  race ;  and  it  is  probable 
that  some  of  the  bloodthirsty  attacks  described 
were  not  made  by  Eskimo  at  all.  In  Greenland  the 
first  white  men  to  see  the  Eskimo  there  found  them 
naive  and  friendly;  Stephanson's  experience  with 
the  blonde  Eskimo  whom  he  discovered  was  the 
same. 

At  any  rate  the  Labrador  Eskimo  of  to-day  are 
kindly,  curious,  ingenuous  people.  The  white  men 
who  live  among  them  soon  come  to  love  them.  A 
poor  little  Eskimo  boy,  whom  Dr.  Grenfell  picked 


Cfte  jLafiraDot  OBsfeimo  149 

up  on  the  northern  coast,  and,  after  removing  a 
tubercular  rib,  nursed  back  to  health,  was  my  play- 
mate for  many  months  when  stationed  at  one  of  the 
hospitals.  The  handicap  of  his  somewhat  frail  con- 
dition, lack  of  mother  and  father,  and  imperfect 
knowledge  of  English  did  not  lessen  his  plucky  self- 
reliance  and  indomitable  spirit.  He  was  full  of 
energy  and  played  outdoors  and  on  the  boats  in  the 
harbor,  regardless  of  wet  and  cold.  His  mind  was 
as  bright  as  his  dark  eyes,  and,  although  mischiev- 
ous, like  most  normal  boys,  he  had  a  sunny  and 
altogether  lovable  disposition.  I  wanted  very  much 
to  adopt  him,  quixotic  as  the  idea  doubtless  was,  but 
in  the  climate  of  the  eastern  States  he  probably 
could  not  have  lived. 

The  Eskimo  are  undoubtedly  best  off  in  their 
own  haunts;  and  they  have  a  strong  love  of  the 
north.  One  of  the  most  detestable  cruelties  ever 
inflicted  on  a  primitive  people  was  that  perpetrated 
by  the  men  connected  with  the  World's  Fair  at 
Chicago,  who  brought  south  a  large  number  of  the 
Labrador  Eskimo,  to  exhibit  them.  After  the  Ex- 
position they  took  little  or  no  trouble  to  send  them 
back.  Many  of  those  who  had  not  already  fallen 
victims  to  the  climate  and  the  diseases  of  civiliza- 
tion died  in  the  struggle  to  reach  home.  Only  a 
few  of  the  lot  ever  got  back  to  Labrador.  One  little 
boy,  Prince  Pomiuk,  who  became  widely  known 
through  the  efforts  of  a  kind  old  gentleman  once 


150  G3ttl)  Dr*  Grenfell  in  Labrador 

on  the  coast,  was  finally  sent  north,  but  died  after 
long  suffering. 

It  was  probably  one  of  these  derelicts  from  whom 
Dr.  Grenfell  received  a  message  while  I  was  with 
him  in  Labrador.  The  message  was  relayed  along 
by  telegraph  and  dog-mail,  and  arrived  when  we 
were  frozen  in  for  the  winter.  It  said  simply  "I 
want  to  get  home.  Anatuk."  It  was  impossible  to 
find  any  trace  of  the  sender;  no  one  knows  what 
has  become  of  him. 

In  Labrador  the  "umiak"  or  "woman's  boat,"  a 
large  can^e,  is  no  longer  used  to  any  extent.  The 
fisherman's  trap-skiff  has  generally  replaced  it.  For 
a  single  fisherman  the  small  punt  with  oars  has 
somewhat  replaced  the  native  canoe  as  well.  But 
many  of  these  canoes  or  "kyaks"  are  still  built  and 
used  in  fishing  and  hunting  seal. 

The  frame  is  wooden,  pointed  at  both  ends,  and 
covered  with  sealskin.  The  top  is  similarly  decked 
over  except  for  a  hole  into  which  the  one  user  puts 
his  legs,  to  sit  on  the  bottom.  Seals,  women  or 
other  "chattels"  can  be  carried  on  the  flat  deck.  A 
double-paddle  is  used;  and  in  spite  of  its  narrow 
blades  propels  the  kyak  at  good  speed  even  against 
a  strong  wind  and  tide.  Dr.  Grenfell  has  used  one 
for  many  years,  and  is  remarkably  skilful  in  hand- 
ling it.  He  keeps  it  lashed  on  the  deck  of  his  little 
steamer ;  and  because  its  dark  color  and  little  height 


< 
c 
w 


w 

rv 

w 

O 


C&e  La&raOor  4Mtmo  151 

above  water  make  it  inconspicuous  he  finds  it  well 
adapted  for  shooting  ducks. 

The  southern  Eskimo  live  in  huts  made  of  plank- 
ing or  split-logs  roofed  with  sod.  A  few  of  their 
houses  are  very  comfortable  for  the  coast.  The 
more  northern  groups  live  in  a  type  of  sealskin  tent 
called  "tupik"  during  the  summer.  Snow-houses 
are  temporary  dwellings  only,  used  chiefly  on  jour- 
neys. The  Eskimo  are  very  skilful  in  building  them 
in  a  very  short  time.  The  blocks  of  packed  snow 
are  cut  with  a  bone  knife  and  carefully  fitted  to- 
gether to  form  a  circular  wall  a  few  feet  high  cov- 
ered with  a  dome-vault.  When  we  remember  the 
advanced  stage  of  culture  reached  in  Europe  before 
the  simple  dome-vault  was  discovered,  the  evident 
rediscovery  of  this  principle  by  so  primitive  a  people 
seems  again  to  show  minds  capable  of  invention 
and  achievement. 

The  same  qualities  are  displayed  in  the  varied 
use  of  almost  the  only  other  raw  material  besides 
snow  and  ice  possessed  by  the  Eskimo,  the  seal. 
Walrus  was  used  in  much  the  same  way,  but,  as  has 
been  remarked,  is  now  scarce.  Naturally  the  plen- 
tiful seals  were  early  used  for  food;  but,  in  addi- 
tion, the  skins  furnished  clothes  and  boots  and  bags, 
the  bones  countless  implements.  Instead  of  window- 
glass  thin  bladder-skin  stretched  taut  was  used. 
The  fat  furnished  fuel  for  cooking,  and  light. 

The  Eskimo  have  not  stopped  with  providing  the 


152  Wiit\)  Dr*  &unit\\  in  Lafitatiot 

mere  necessities  of  life.  They  find  time  and  means 
for  play  and  luxuries  as  well.  One  of  the  least 
necessary  things  is  land  transportation.  The  north- 
ern Indians  developed  this  very  little.  But  the  Es- 
kimo evidently  very  early  caught  and  tamed  litters 
of  wolf-pups,  from  which  stock  they  have  devel- 
oped the  partially  domesticated  Eskimo  dog  or 
husky.  We  found  that  our  best  dogs  were  those  of 
purest  Eskimo  breed.  Only  the  uncompromising 
taste  of  the  huskies  for  other  animals  excuses  the 
use  of  more  civilized  breeds. 

The  Eskimo  "komatik"  or  sled  is  a  long,  low, 
narrow  one  made  of  wooden  cross-bars  lashed  to 
wooden  runners,  and  will  stand  hard  strains  with- 
out breaking.  The  runners  are  shod  with  smooth 
pieces  cut  from  the  jaw-bone  of  a  whale.  Even  on 
our  light  imported  sleds  we  frequently  used  these 
whale-bone  shoes.  Nothing  causes  less  friction  on 
comparatively  soft  snow.  But  in  the  main  part  of 
winter  when  there  is  no  partial  thaw  the  bone  does 
not  glide  so  smoothly.  At  this  time  the  Eskimo 
mix  dirt  and  snow  thawed  over  a  seal-oil  lamp,  and 
coat  the  under-surface  of  the  runners  with  mud. 
Allowing  this  to  freeze  on,  they  polish  it  and  apply 
additional  coats  until  they  produce  a  fairly  thick 
frozen  mud  shoe,  almost  frictionless  on  the  snow 
of  midwinter.  When  it  wears  off  a  fresh  coat  is 
readily  put  on.    When  a  slight  thaw  melts  it  off  it 


Dr.    Grenfell   carrying  up   surveying   apparatus   to 
top  of  cliff 


Facing   page    152 


C&e  La&raoot  4Mimo  153 

is  no  longer  wanted,  because  the  bare  whale-bone 
glides  best  on  the  damper  snow. 

The  Eskimo  in  Labrador  as  elsewhere  are  pecul- 
iarly susceptible  to  certain  diseases  in  spite  of  their 
remarkably  strong  constitutions.  Consumption  has 
played  great  havoc  among  them.  That  they  have 
not  been  wiped  out  by  it  is  due  to  their  remarkably 
sound  systems.  Men  at  the  very  door  of  death, 
who  would  be  doomed  by  any  physician  with  wide 
experience,  have  rallied  and  gotten  entirely  well. 
The  Eskimo  have  not  developed  the  immunity  to 
many  diseases  that  has  been  produced  in  most  civil- 
ized peoples  by  the  very  prevalence  of  those  dis- 
eases. Ills  which  we  regard  as  simple,  such  as 
measles,  often  prove  fatal.  While  on  the  coast  I 
saw  the  sad  results  of  an  epidemic  of  scarlet  fever. 

Much  trouble  is  caused  the  Eskimo  and  the  other 
natives  by  ignorance  and  neglect,  and  Dr.  Grenfell 
is  constantly  teaching  the  simple  truths  of  hy- 
giene, knowledge  of  which  will  prolong  the  life  of 
this  fine  race.  He  has  also  become  skilful  in  the 
specialized  sort  of  medical  work  necessary  to  their 
unusual  needs.  One  of  his  colleagues  has  discov- 
ered a  skin  disease  new  to  medicine  and  found  only 
among  the  Eskimo.  An  effective  cure  has  at  last 
been  evolved. 

Work  of  this  type,  coupled  with  the  broad  and 
wise  policy  of  developing  by  aid  the  Eskimo's  own 


154  ffiHtt!)  Dr*  (Srenfcil  in  LaliraDor 

initiative  rather  than  cramping  it,  is  typical  of  Dr. 
Grenfell's  efforts  among  all  his  Labrador  people. 
He  has  accomplished  more  for  them  in  such  varied 
ways,  in  comparatively  few  years,  than  centuries  of 
evangelization  could  have  done.  Secondarily,  and 
with  no  thought  of  doing  so,  he  brings  a  stirring 
inspiration  to  America  toward  effective  self-forget- 
ting work.  He  has  helped  not  only  the  people  of 
Labrador,  but  us.    May  we  increasingly  help  him. 


APPENDIX:    ADDRESSES 

Dr.  Wilfred  T.  Grenfell,  Labrador,  care  of  the 
Grenfell   Association   of   America,    156   Fifth 
Avenue,  New  York. 
Dr.  Grenfell  is  always  ready  to  answer  the  ques- 
tions of  persons  who  are  in  any  way  interested  in 
the  coast.     As  his  time,  however,  is  extremely  full 
of  the  duties  attendant  on  the  administration  of  an 
establishment  now  of  considerable  size,  as  well  as 
of  his  surgical  and  literary  work,  it  is  always  well,  if 
possible,   to  obtain  information   from  some  other 
source.     Information  on  nearly  all  the  parts  of  the 
Mission's  activity  can  be  obtained  from  the  secre- 
taries of  the  various  Grenfell  Associations.     The 
chief  of  these  follow : 

Grenfell  Association   of   America,    156   Fifth 

Ave.,  New  York. 

New  England  Grenfell  Association,  14  Beacon 

St.,  Boston. 

Grenfell  Association  of  Canada,  Jose  Machado, 

Esq.,  Secretary,  224  Wellington  St.,  Ottawa, 

Ont. 

155 


156  appenOfe:  aooregseg 

Royal  National  Mission  to  ,Deep  Sea  Fisher- 
men, Bridge  House,  181  Queen  Victoria  St., 
London. 

Bowring  &  Co.,  Red  Cross  Line,  17  Battery 
Place,  New  York.  The  above  company  can  give 
information  in  regard  to  its  lines  from  New  York  to 
St.  Johns  and  further  north.  It  is  the  best  line  by 
which  to  send  packages  to  the  coast. 

J.  W.  N.  Johnstone,  General  Passenger  Agent, 
Reid  Newfoundland  Company,  St.  Johns,  New- 
foundland. Mr.  Johnstone  is  exceedingly  kind  in 
assisting  intending  visitors  to  Newfoundland  and 
Labrador.  He  is  also  ready  to  help  them  find  guides 
and  to  indicate  good  localities  for  hunting  and  fish- 
ing. 

W.  &  S.  Job  &  Co.,  St.  Johns,  Newfoundland, 
and  68  Broad  Street,  New  York.  This  firm  con- 
ducts trading  operations  in  fish  on  the  coast,  both  in 
the  Straits  and  further  north.  They  also  sometimes 
have  a  small  steamer,  which  can  be  chartered  for 
cruises  or  exploration. 

Mr.  A.  Sheard,  Seamen's  Institute,  St.  Johns, 
Newfoundland. 

By  recent  organization,  which  aims  to  produce 
the  highest  efficiency,  and  eliminate  duplication  of 
effort  and  waste,  Mr.  Sheard  has  been  made  Busi- 
ness Manager  of  the  entire  International  Medical 
Mission.    All  business  matters  consequently  should 


appenOii:  3DDre0ses  157 

be  referred  to  him,  and  will  receive  very  prompt  and 
careful  attention.  To  him  also  application  should 
be  made  for  the  hiring  for  summer  cruises  of  Dr. 
Grenfell's  vessels. 

The  author  occasionally  lectures  on  behalf  of  Dr. 
Grenfell's  work,  and  may  be  addressed  in  care  of 
The  Grenfell  Association  of  America,  156  Fifth 
Ave.,  New  York. 


T0JS 


1»« 


X.A.S1 


DA.?*1 


** 


113 


lll^ 


*I«* 


v^Z***1 


K,«N°C' 


OH 


*$£>•««■ 


292243 


PY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


